The Dragon King
by Threni
Summary: One night the Viking Chiefs gathered to discuss the mysterious man they named The Dragon King. Little did they know that their lives were about to be changed forever when an uninvited guest showed up.
1. Chapter 1

**THE DRAGON KING**

 **I own nothing. All Rights Reserved.**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Survival Training**

The Vikings of the island of Berk had long prided themselves on their raw strength and toughness. They had been on Berk for over 300 years and had never once thought of leaving, despite constantly being raided by dragons and having miserable weather that made farming difficult. Even their enemies had to concede that they were a tough and stubborn tribe. They did not get that way by accident, however. From an early age parents trained their children in hunting, fishing, sailing, healing, and most of all, fighting. It was not seen by them merely as a tradition to maintain, but as a way to help ensure the future survival of both the Berk and their children. Since Berk had been engaged in a vicious and unending war with dragons since the Vikings had first come to the island, not to mention occasional raids from rival tribes, it was not unusual for children to become proficient with a weapon by the time they were ten.

Such was the case of Astrid Hofferson. She was by every definition the image of what a warrior ought to be. At her parent's urging as well as her own desire to be the best she possibly could, from an earlier age than most she had trained and practiced. The work had long ago paid off, and she had easily outstripped all of the people her own age, and now, approaching the age of 23, she had a reputation of being second only to the mighty Stoick the Vast, the Chief of Berk. Many Vikings twice her age had sparred with her, yet for nearly 8 years she had never been defeated. Stoick himself had offered to duel her on occasion, but she refused to battle her chief.

Her most constant challenger was the chief's nephew Snotlout Jorgenson. Snotlout had had a crush on Astrid for well over a decade, and she had found his behavior repulsive for the same amount of time. His constant flirting with her drove her crazy, his massive ego disgusted her, and his preference to brag about his own heavily exaggerated abilities than to focus on the job at hand drove her patience up a wall. Snotlout was not only her most constant challenger; he was by far the most consistent recipient of her punches. Despite this, he never seemed to realize the actual effect he had on her, nor did he ever seem to take the hint that she wasn't interested in him.

Due to being the Chief's nephew, Snotlout was considered by many, especially himself and his father, to be the next chief of Berk. Stoick had had a son once, but he had died some 8 years earlier, a fact Snotlout had often been gleeful about, though never when the Chief was around. However, as Astrid and her abilities became more known among the villagers, there were a great many who thought Astrid would make a better chief. Astrid's father Olaf, in particular, had long been suggesting to Stoick that he should name her as his heir. He put forth a strong case, for while Snotlout was connected to Stoick by blood and could fight reasonably well, he was often self centered, bratty, and lacking in common sense. Astrid, in contrast, was not only the superior fighter, she was not delusional about herself nor given to making empty boasts, as Snotlout often did. On the other hand, Astrid had no actual claim to the position of chief. Her family was well respected, but was not particularly wealthy or well connected, except to Stoick himself, who was an old friend of Olaf Hofferson. Supporters of Snotlout were quick to point this out, while supporters of Astrid were equally quick to ask if bloodlines should count for more than ability. For a while it had been suggested that the issue could be solved by Snotlout and Astrid marrying and more or less sharing the position of Chief, but while Snotlout was in full favor of this (and often declared that he would marry Astrid as soon as he was chief), Astrid had long made it clear she had no desire to marry Snotlout. The last time someone had suggested it to her face they had gone to the healers with two black eyes, a broken and bloody nose, and three loose teeth.

Stoick had so far left the decision in the air, declaring that he would observe both of them and decide who was the most able to lead a village. This had led to Astrid working even harder than usual, to prove that she would be the better choice and to show that she could run Berk without having to be married to Snotlout. She approached her tasks with fierce energy and dedication. She often assisted at the docks with the loading and unloading of ships, as well as repairing them, she helped with repairs to the village after storms, and during the harvesting times she worked hard to ensure the stores were full for the long winter. One thing Astrid was not very skillful at was farming, so she compensated by transporting food to storage and organizing and cataloging it. Her main duty, however, was to train new recruits to fight against both dragons and humans. So when Stoick had asked her to take some children to a nearby island for survival training, she instantly agreed to go. However, and much to her disgust, Snotlout was to come as well, and Stoick also decided to send Fishlegs Ingerman with them, mostly because he knew Fishlegs would be a more useful assistant to Astrid than Snotlout would be. There had also been talk of the Thorston twins joining them, but that was before they had nearly blown up Stoick's house…again.

The idea behind this training exercise was to teach the youngsters how to survive in the wild with nothing but their wits and whatever they could find. The trainers and trainees were rowed to a nearby deserted island and abandoned there for a week or so. Until the boat returned, the abandoned ones were completely on their own. The trainers were always given extra supplies so things would (hopefully) never actually turn into a legitimate struggle to survive, but they were not to use these under normal circumstances. Astrid took these rules very seriously and kept all the extra supplies under her constant guard. Until she gave the word, nobody was going to touch those supplies and escape with all their limbs intact.

But that was not to say that Astrid was a tyrant with her students. While she drove them hard and had no tolerance for the idle, she was also fair and was always ready to commend those who put effort into their work. Her students were always somewhat afraid of her, but also highly respected her; partly because she had made it clear it was for their own good that she drove them as relentlessly as she did. She was hard, yes, but that was because she knew that kindness was no use in the wilderness. "You have to look after yourself because Nature won't." she'd tell her students, "You can't rely on the Gods either because you don't know what their intentions are. You have to be able to rely only on yourself, and I'm going to teach you how to do that." She also was more considerate and willing to help those who had never done this kind of thing before, though to those who had she showed little patience if they still were messing up. Since most of the children in this group had never been away from home for more than a night or two, and had never spent much time in the wilderness, Astrid decided the first night would be purely demonstrative, so she and Fishlegs prepared dinner and a fire themselves (Snotlout had gone off to find a tree and hadn't returned for nearly an hour), all the while giving out advice and showing the proper methods step by step.

After dinner was done and darkness had fallen, Astrid went around making certain the area was secured, an old habit of hers. While there were no animals larger than a rabbit on the island there was always a chance an enemy boat or dragons might land there. It was a starry night and the moon was nearly full, so she didn't need to bother with a torch.

She reached the beach and stared out across the black ocean. There was no sound apart from the waves gently coming onto the shore or lapping against the giant sea stacks that rose out of the ocean in random places. There was no sign of any ships on the horizon or dragons in the sky. Complete tranquility prevailed. She closed her eyes and breathed in the salty air.

Abruptly she was startled out of her relaxation by an ear piercing shriek that made her blood run cold. She instinctively whipped out her axe and scanned the horizon. She heard another sound behind her and spun around, but it was only Fishlegs running towards her.

"Astrid! Did you hear it?"

She gave a curt nod and went back to looking about her.

"That _was_ a Night Fury call, right?"

"What else could it have been?"

"Good point, but if it was a Night Fury, then that might mean that _he_ might be here, and if _he_ is here, then that might mean that we might be in deep trouble, I mean, we might—"

"Are the others all right?" Astrid interrupted him,

"What? Oh yes, yes, they're fine. Gustav has got them all armed and standing in a circle."

"I suppose Snotlout dove behind the nearest tree?"

"No, but when I left he was making certain all the kids keep in front of him."

"Coward," Astrid growled, not taking her eyes off the sky. For several long minutes they gazed about in silence.

"See anything?"

"Nothing—Wait a minute, look there!" Fishlegs cried.

Astrid turned to where he was pointing. She could see a sea stack and on top of it she could see the faintest outline of something very large.

"Good eyes. How did you see that?"

"I noticed stars suddenly disappearing, indicating that something was in moving front of them." Fishlegs replied matter-of-factly.

Astrid smiled slightly.

"Do you think it's _him_?"

"I don't know. It's too dark to make much out."

They continued to stare at the sea stack for several more minutes when Fishlegs suddenly spoke.

"A bunch of stars just reappeared. I think it's flown away. I have no idea what direction, though,"

Astrid slowly lowered her axe, "Come on; let's get back to the others."

They made their way back to camp and were greeted with a barrage of questions from the anxious children.

"Did you see it?"

"Was it big?"

"Did you kill it?"

"Was it— _him_?"

"What happened?"

"What did you—?"

"Enough!" Astrid said loudly, and the group fell silent. "Now, yes, we saw something on the sea stacks, and it's gone now. We will be naturally keeping a watch out tonight, but I think the excitement is over." She sat down on a log. "Fishlegs, you take the first watch. Have Peer relieve you in an hour."

The group gathered around the campfire and passed around some bread and mead.

"Well," Snotlout said eventually, "that dragon was smart to fly away. If it had tried to attack us, I'd have sent torn it to pieces without blinking an eye."

"You wouldn't be blinking because you're eyes would be screwed up shut," Fishlegs mumbled. Astrid heard him and chuckled slightly.

"But was it _just_ a Night Fury? Or was _he_ with it?" Asked Peer, his eyes opened wide with curiosity and fear.

"We don't know, Peer," Astrid replied.

"Astrid, what should we do if the Dragon King does come?" asked Gustav.

"Fight it, of course," Snotlout declared at once.

"Do you think we could?" a girl named Ase asked anxiously, "they say the Dragon King commands all dragons, that he can destroy an entire armada with a single gesture, that he can—"

"Ase, that's enough," Astrid cut in, "if the Dragon King shows up and attempts to harm any of us, we will fight back. That's _if_ he shows up."

"But is it true he rides a Night Fury?" Ase pursued,

"No one knows, Ase," Gustav said, and they all knew he was right. The simple fact was that nobody knew very much about this man. They didn't even know if it _was_ a man, or if it was even human.

Some five years ago Trader Johann had arrived on Berk and had told them some stories he had heard during his trading rounds concerning a man who had been seen riding on the back of a dragon. At first everybody had dismissed this as stories told by drunken fishermen, but with each successive visit Johann brought more stories from people who had seen this thing. The size of the dragon varied, with some declaring it must have been the size of a mountain and others swearing it was only the size of an eagle, but all agreed on a three things: it was a black dragon, there was something that resembled a person on its back, and it was incredibly fast. Most people only got a glimpse of it before it was gone.

Bit by bit the Vikings of Berk and nearby villages began to take more notice of these reports, and soon they began to have their own sightings of this phenomenon. The person who rode on the dragon was given all kinds of names, including the Dragon Sorcerer, King, Emperor, Enslaver, Demon, etc, and he soon became the talk of the archipelago. People discussed him over meals, over drinks, placed bets on him, debated gossip concerning him, frightened children off to bed with stories of his cruelty, and so on and so forth. Children played games which featured him as villain, drew pictures of him to use for target practice, and made up their own stories to frighten other children with. Ultimately, however, nobody could say much with any kind of certainty about the Dragon King, as he was most commonly called. Sightings of him were always short, sporadic, and unpredictable, and determining his intentions had so far proved impossible. While there were rumors of him and the Night Fury wiping out entire armies single handedly, there was no solid evidence to tie them to any injuries or deaths. Nobody could say if this person was plotting to enslave all Vikings and in time conquer the world, if he was the secret defender of the entire archipelago, a scientist or sorcerer seeking a quiet place for research and studies, a criminal hiding from the law, a pilgrim seeking solitude, some combination of any of these, or even something else altogether. People debated the King, his methods, and his motives until they were blue in the face, but they were no further from an explanation at the end of the discussion than they were before it had begun.

"Do you think it really is a Night Fury that he rides?" someone asked.

"We don't know," Astrid said shortly.

"Well," Fishlegs called over as he patrolled outside of the group, "we know the King rides a black dragon, and the only known black dragons are Night Furies and Whispering Deaths, and since the size, shape, and speed of the dragon do not match a Whispering Death, it follows logically that he rides a Night Fury."

"Bet the chief doesn't like that, considering what happened to his son." Gustav commented,

"Why? What happened?" another trainee asked.

"You already know what happened." Astrid said.

"Only that he was killed by a dragon,"

"Who cares about what happened to Useless?" Snotlout said loudly

"It happened the day after he placed first in Dragon Training," Fishlegs explained, ignoring Snotlout, "the day he was going to kill a Monstrous Nightmare and be officially declared a Viking. He never showed up to the Kill Ring. We thought at first he'd just lost track of time, so we sent out search parties. Astrid led a group to Raven Point because she'd seen him around there a few weeks earlier."

Everyone looked at Astrid, expecting her to continue the story. Finally, with a huff, she said "We found a cove. In it we found Hiccup's tracks, as well as fresh tracks of a dragon."

"How do you know they were a Night Fury's?" Ase asked,

"There were black scales in the cove as well, and, like what I said earlier, that could only mean a Night Fury or a Whispering Death—"

"And the traces didn't fit a Whispering Death," Astrid interrupted impatiently, "ergo, it was a Night Fury, and since even the Chief himself would have trouble killing a Night Fury—"

"Stupid, weak Useless wouldn't have had a chance against one," Snotlout finished for her, "now if _I_ had been there, that Night Fury wouldn't have stood a chance!"

"Against your breath or body odor maybe," Astrid mumbled,

"What was that?"

"But what was the dragon doing there in the first place?" the child who had first expressed interest asked.

"We wondered about that for a while," Fishlegs told him, "the evidence was the dragon had been there for some time, and it appeared to be injured. In one set of tracks we saw one of its tail fins was missing, but in another we saw both intact. Then Gobber remembered Hiccup had claimed he'd shot down a Night Fury during an earlier raid."

"As if," Snotlout scoffed, "only my dad and I could do something like that…"

"Anyway," Fishlegs raised his voice "it was concluded Hiccup _had_ shot down the Night Fury, but it had gotten away with just an injury. It hid itself in that cove and waited until it had recovered."

"What was the Chief's son doing in the cove that day anyway?" asked Peer

"Judging by the tracks, he liked to go there a lot," Astrid said softly, "it's a beautiful spot, and he probably went there to clear his head or train, or maybe both. He'd probably gone down that morning to prepare himself, and nobody has seen him since. There wasn't even any blood or sign of a struggle. The thing probably carried him off to another island and ate him there."

"Good riddance to him," Snotlout said loudly, prompting Astrid to kick him in the shin, "OW! _What_? Everyone on Berk was relieved to hear of his death, you know that!"

"The Chief wasn't." Astrid snarled "and neither was I."

"You were furious at him only the day before. You certainly looked ready to murder him when he won first place."

"I was angry at him, yes, but I never wanted him _dead_!" Astrid shouted "what about you, Snotlout? You were cheering for him that day as if he was your greatest hero, and now the fact that he's gone pleases you more than anybody else!"

"So the person who hated him wishes he was back, and the person who rooted for him is glad he's dead?" Gustav commented to the other trainees.

"But why," said Peer loudly, in an attempt to distract Astrid and Snotlout from coming to blows, "did Hiccup and the dragon only meet on that last day? If Hiccup had gone to the cove before, and the dragon was already there, why hadn't it killed Hiccup then?"

"Because the dragon was a coward," Snotlout said, "anything that was afraid to fight Hiccup the Useless could be nothing else,"

"No, it was smart." Fishlegs said firmly "it was injured, and knew if it didn't succeed in killing Hiccup, he'd run off and bring back more Vikings who would kill it."

"But how could it possibly not succeed in killing Useless?" Snotlout scoffed,

"It didn't know how strong Hiccup really was, so it decided not to take the risk."

"It didn't know how strong—Fish, that kid was a twig!"

"Looks can be deceiving. Didn't Tuffnut jeer at a Terrible Terror once and it gave him a bloody nose? And don't forget, this would have been around the time Hiccup drove a Zippleback into its cage by waving his hands. I believe the Night Fury could sense something dangerous about him, so it played it safe and stayed hidden until it had healed."

"And then it got a chance and carried him off," Ase said, "did you ever find the body?"

"No," Astrid said grimly, "Stoick sent search parties everywhere, but they didn't find so much as a hair from his head."

"Do you think the Dragon King killed Hiccup?" someone asked, "or was in some way responsible?"

"We don't know," Fishlegs said, "Hiccup was killed some 8 years ago, and we didn't hear of the King until about 3 years later. Of course, he could have just been keeping a low profile at the time,"

"But you think the King's Night Fury killed Hiccup?"

"It's impossible to tell, of course, but to our knowledge we've only had encounters with one Night Fury, so unless the King found another one, it would logically follow that his mount is the same one that carried Hiccup off. Though the King may not know about that," He added.

"If he can talk to dragons he probably does," Snotlout said, "he was probably thrilled to hear it. A man that rides such monsters can only be a very evil one, so he probably enjoys killing people."

"Whoever said he can talk to dragons?" Ase asked,

"Because when Astrid saw him he seemed to be communicating with them," Fishlegs said.

Astrid sighed as she felt everyone look at her again.

"I was wondering when someone would bring that up," she said quietly, "I suppose you all now want to hear what happened?"

"Oh yes!" the trainees cried,

"Did you really see the Dragon King?" Peer asked eagerly,

"We don't know for certain, but we don't know who else it could be," Fishlegs said, "there's a lot we don't know for certain, in fact, but it's fairly safe to assume that she encountered him when she was—"

"Fish, are you going to tell this story or shall I?"

"Sorry,"

"Yeah don't interrupt my girl when she's talking!"

"Snotlout, one more sound out of you—" Astrid ran her finger along the blade of her axe, and Snotlout shrank into the shadows.

"Thank you. Anyway, we were on a voyage to visit the Owl Gut Tribe to have a peace talk with Chief Gort. A storm hit and my boat smashed into rocks near an island. No deaths or serious injuries," she added quickly, "but our ship was badly wrecked and we were exhausted by the time we got to shore. Some fell asleep as soon as they reached the beach, even with the wind and waves roaring and the rain coming down by the bucketful. The next morning I went with a group to find water and forage. I wandered upstream a little to get a better view and I slipped down a hill and fell into a ravine and lost consciousness. I didn't come to until it was night, so of course I had no chance of finding my way back until morning. I was all set to spend the night where I was when a Zippleback suddenly appeared. I tried to fight it off, but my leg was injured from my fall and it was hard to see in the darkness. Even after the Zippleback missed me and lit a shrub on fire I was still at a disadvantage, and it knew it,"

"She's just being modest," Snotlout whispered to Gustav, "I'm sure she beat that demon to a pulp."

"Anyway, I was prepared to go down fighting and take the dragon with me, but we both heard a loud growl and it froze in its tracks. At the top of the ravine I could make out a large black shape with green eyes looking down at us, and I saw a man come down the slope and approach the dragon. He made some strange sounds and held out a hand, and the next thing I knew the dragon was acting like a little puppy. It began licking the man, which prompted the creature on the top of the ravine to growl, and then it flew away. Once it had the man turned to me and then ran away.

"I waited a few minutes and he returned. He said nothing but held out a hand. I took it and he helped me up the hillside and began to lead me down a trail. Of course, I asked him all kinds of questions, like who he was, what he was doing, where was he from, where were we going, etc. but he never said a word. He led me back to where the others were camped out, and then vanished."

Her audience had listened with rapt attention, and now that she had stopped Gustav asked "what did he look like?"

"It was hard to tell, because he was dressed entirely in black and it was very dark. He wore a mask and helmet, and he moved very silently. I couldn't see any weapons on him either. The next day I told the others what had happened, and led a search party to the ravine. There was evidence that there _had_ been tracks but they had all been wiped away. The shrub the Zippleback had lit on fire was still smoldering, though."

"What happened next?"

"Nothing really. We repaired the ships and sailed on. Everything went smoothly after that and we returned to Berk about 10 days later."

"And ever since most people have believed that the Dragon King is indeed a real person." Fishlegs added. "Some have tried to say Astrid merely hallucinated, but they can't explain the burning shrub or the wiped away tracks to anyone's satisfaction. Snotlout's dad was one of them for a while, as I recall,"

"He was just being smart. I mean, who would instantly believe a story of a man talking with those demons and controlling them?" Snotlout said contemptuously.

" _You_ believed it pretty fast, if I remember right,"

"Because it was Astrid who told it. If Useless had told it, I'd have laughed and given him a black eye for telling such lies."

Astrid suddenly and impatiently announced that it was time they got some sleep. The children attempted to quietly discuss what they had just heard, but she gave a loud growl and they decided such things could wait until daylight.


	2. Chapter 2

**I own nothing. All Rights Reserved.**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Returning and Leaving**

The following day Astrid had everyone up at the break of dawn, and ordered them to forge for breakfast. She firmly inspecting everything found to make certain nothing was poisonous and when something turned up that was she taught the trainees on how to recognize it. When breakfast was over she set her students to work preparing shelters. These mostly consisted of digging holes without any proper tools and covering them with branches. As they did this Astrid prowled about like a wolf on the hunt.

"This one won't work," she told Ase flatly, "tell me why." Put on the spot, Ase panicked and could only shrug while her face turned bright red. "It's too unstable. If the weather turns stormy it will fall apart in minutes, and then you'll have to repair it in miserable conditions and risk getting sick from the cold and wet. Try again."

She left Ase when another girl standing nearby nervously came up to her and asked for her opinion on her own shelter. Astrid glanced at it and gave the same assessment she'd given Ase.

"But what if a storm doesn't come?" the girl asked,

" _Always_ prepare for the worst," Astrid replied, "that way if it doesn't happen you'll be pleasantly surprised, and if it does you won't be surprised at all." She then went off to have a look at one of the older boys who was trying to dig in the dirt with his hands.

"Well how am I supposed to do it without a shovel or a pick?" he demanded angrily after she reprimanded him.

"Find a stone and tie it to a strong branch."

"And what am I supposed to tie it with?" he asked as if he had asked something that would stump her.

"Your boots have laces, don't they? Or you could use your belt. And if you don't have a belt or boots in the future, bark or long grasses would work well enough. If nothing else, you could just use the rock to dig with. It would go faster than by hand and there'd be less chance of your hands getting cut and infected."

With Astrid moving about in this fashion nobody dared to talk about the Dragon King: they eagerly wanted to, but were too worried Astrid would call on them to demonstrate something. Snotlout mostly spent this time tailing Astrid and giving out tips when needed, which Astrid often ordered her students to ignore. Fishlegs had been put in charge of serving as lookout and keeping watch on the emergency rations.

The remainder of the week passed with few incidents, save for Snotlout somehow lighting his pants on fire. There were no more events involving the Dragon King, but as soon as the ship returned all of the trainees were excitedly recounting their encounter with him to anyone who would listen, and continued to do so when they made it back to Berk.

Astrid reserved her description of the events for the Chief, while Fishlegs confined his account to his journals, which were crammed full with his observations on dragons and all he'd learned about the Dragon King. Snotlout, to no one's surprise, spun a story about his heroic standoff with the King and how the mere sight of him had scared the King's Night Fury to back down. Behind his back people suggested the true reason the dragon was scared off was due to Snotlout's attempt to grown facial hair.

As soon as they returned Astrid went to drop her bag off at home, where she was nearly smothered with hugs from her mother Greta and received a proud smile from her father Olaf, who then informed her that they had received a message from Chief Stoick that he wanted to see her at his house as soon as she'd returned. Always quick to obey the chief, Astrid was out the door and on her way to Stoick's house after spending less than three minutes at her own.

From the outside it was the most impressive building on the island. Built on a hillside overlooking the village, it seemed even taller than it really was, but it remained one of the taller homes. Its roof and walls contained many elaborate metal carvings and less elaborate wooden ones, for with the long years of dragon raids it was completely futile to make anything into a work of art if it was flammable. Still, the house looked beautifully built, with a nice color combination of greens, browns, dark reds, and black, and it looked very much like a place fit for a chief.

The inside was less impressive, though only a handful of people were aware of this. Stoick didn't get visitors very much: large meetings were typically held in Mead Hall, and when Stoick wanted to see an individual he preferred to call on them rather than summon them. Astrid herself had only been inside it twice before, and both times were simply to report to the chief when it just so happened that he was there. In general, he didn't like to be in his house much, as it contained too many sad memories for him. His wife Valka had been snatched by a dragon from inside their house, and it was a known fact that he'd hadn't gone into his son Hiccup's room since Hiccup had been taken by the Night Fury. Just about every object in his home had some connection to at least one member of his lost family, and there were many days, especially around the anniversaries of their deaths, where he couldn't bear the memories that were triggered by looking at them. As a result, the Haddock house was little more than a place for Stoick to sleep in.

Stoick let her in and showed her to a chair with a pleasant smile. She found it hard to believe that, even after all these years, she still couldn't help but feel a bit awed and intimidated to be in the presence of Chief Stoick the Vast. The years after Hiccup's death had not been very kind to the chief. While he was still plainly a tough fighter, it was equally clear his famous strength was going to seed. His reflexes were a bit slower than before, his muscles weren't as large as they were (though his arms when flexed were still the size of grapefruits), and his hair was starting to show bits of gray. Still, his gaze was as hard and clear as ever, and it was easily apparent that his mind was as sharp as ever, and he turned that gaze on her and made her feel as if he was staring into her very soul.

She quickly gave him a rundown of the events of the training week and her assessment of each student's performance.

"Overall, most of them did merely adequately," she concluded, "but they'll do better with more practice. I think I should take them out again in a week or two." She then told him about the encounter with the Dragon King. Stoick showed surprise at this and chuckled when she first mentioned it, and listened with great attention.

"So tell me, lass, what do you think about this Dragon King?" he asked when she had finished.

"I don't really know, Chief," Astrid mused, "we discussed this on this island after he'd left. All of my instincts say he couldn't possibly exist, but I've seen enough on two separate occasions to know that he must be real. But if he is real, what is he doing, what does he want, and is he a friend or foe to us?"

"Ah, that's the question, ain't it? That's the reason I sent for you, in fact. While you were gone I got a letter from Chief Gort of the Owl Gut Tribe, you remember him?" Here Stoick held up a piece of parchment. "In short: he's calling a meeting of all the Viking leaders to Owl Gut Island, where we'll discuss this Dragon King and decide just what's to be done about him."

" _All_ the tribe leaders?"

"Yes, Lass, all of 'em, except for Alvin and his outcasts, of course," Alvin the Treacherous was the leader of the Outcast Tribe, but that tribe was not accepted by the other tribes, with the occasional exception of the Berserkers. "So you see, as you're the only person I know to see this man up close, I want ya to be at this council. Your story will be very interesting to the other chiefs, and I'm sure they'll want to hear this recent one too."

Astrid expressed doubt about this, as there wasn't much she could tell, but Stoick pointed out that it was still more that most others could tell about the King. Conceding this, Astrid asked when they would be leaving.

"We leave the morning after tomorrow. I'm sorry this is such short notice, but the letter came when you were gone, and I decided it would not be good for Berk to miss this. We've gotta take care of our reputation, after all."

"But the survival training, chief! If the trainees don't keep practicing they'll forget everything!"

"I agree, and I'll appoint someone to take care of it for this occasion. We have to see that our seasoned warriors practice the survival methods too."

The sense in this mollified Astrid, so she asked "Is anyone else coming?"

"Myself, my brother, enough Vikings to crew a boat, and your father."

"Not Snotlout?" Astrid said in surprise.

"No, and I'll tell you why, because it concerns you. You know that your father has been telling me for years that ye would make a good chief, and my brother has been saying the same about Snotlout. While the two of you were off training last week there wasn't a day when Olaf weren't singing your praises in one ear and filling the other with attacks against Snotlout, while Spitelout was doing the exact opposite. After Spitelout declared that his son would be a great chief if I only gave him the chance to prove it, I decided I would do just that. While we're at this meeting, Snotlout is going to be in charge of Berk. He'll be given all the powers that I have, though I've given Gobber orders to take over at once if any real emergency happens. I've also arranged with several Vikings to tell me exactly how Snotlout does as Berk's leader, when I return. Then, the next time I leave Berk, _you_ will be the one left in charge, under the same conditions. When I return, I shall then determine who did a better job, and decide who shall succeed me."

As Astrid thought this over she raised concern that the Vikings would be impartial, as those who supported Snotlout would try to cover up or downplay any mistakes he might make.

"I thought of that, but I'm certain the Vikings I picked for this job will be fair enough. That's why your father and Spitelout are both coming on this trip. Speaking of which, we're leaving soon, so you should probably prepare. It's going to take at least a week to get there, and anything can happen when at sea for that long."

She left the Haddock house without showing the slightest emotion, but as soon as she was alone she broke into a broad smile.

"Be your normal self, Snotty, and you'll make me the chief of Berk," she said softly. She turned and saw her father approach her with a beaming smile on his face.

"Did Stoick tell you?" he asked, and after she nodded he gave her a fierce hug that nearly made her breathing difficult.

"This is it, Astrid! This is what we've been working for all these years! You just have to be yourself, and it won't be long before the Hoffersons are in charge of Berk! Without his father to guide him and make his decisions for him Snotlout is going to make a complete fool of himself! Nobody will be able to excuse his mistakes this time, and then they'll all see just how bad a chief he'd make and they'll be begging Stoick to name you as heir!" He hugged her even tighter, "I'm so proud of you, kid. You're going to make the Hofferson name prestigious again, and go down in Viking history as a great chieftain. It's all yours on a platter, Astrid, all you have to do is take it!"

Astrid felt her face go red.

"Now why don't we go tell your mother the great news and start packing?" Olaf finally let her go and they started walking home.

"This will be very interesting," her father remarked as they walked, "All the chiefs of the Archipelago gathered together to discuss the fate of one person. Of course, I imagine they'll start discussing other things, or more likely bicker about them."

"You really think so? I would have thought that, given how important this is, they'd put aside petty differences to discuss the common problem."

"The first rule of politics, lass, is people are always going to argue over the tiniest issues," Olaf laughed, "especially if Dagur the Deranged is there."

Even before Valka had died, Stoick had always eaten in Mead Hall. He had never really learned to cook (and as Chief he never had the time to prepare a proper meal), and had found eating among his villagers a good way to keep in touch with them. It also saved him the trouble of having to clean the kitchen after a long day, and he had long ago learned the hard way that when he tried to cook something, the kitchen always ended up requiring a lot of time and effort to clean.

"Of course, Val wasn't much of cook either," Stoick chuckled to himself, "those meatballs of hers…we could have tied strings to them and used 'em for bolas." He smiled sadly, "Val…"

When he entered the hall he joined his younger brother Spitelout at one table.

"So where's Snotlout tonight?" Stoick asked, trying to sound casual.

"I sent 'im to do his exercises. If 'e's going to be chief 'e'll need to be in good shape."

"Good, good. Even if he doesn't become chief, he'll be more useful to us if he's stronger."

Spitelout raised his eyebrows, "'If'?"

"Yes, 'if'. Ye already know my decision on that matter."

"Yes, and I still say the best solution would be to 'ave the two wed. And why not? Snotlout's been in love with Astrid since they were kids, and the 'offerson's would become part of the Chief's family. Everybody gets what they want."

"I'd agree, but Olaf made it very clear that we'll see Ragnarok before he lets your boy marry his daughter. Astrid's made it clear too, if those bruises on Snotlout's face meant anything."

"She just wants the chiefdom for 'erself." Spitelout growled, "She's reaching too 'igh, if you ask me,"

Stoick sighed, "I'm getting sick of these talks over who's gonna to be the next chief. It wasn't like this when dad was in charge."

"That's because everybody knew _you_ were going to follow him, and I didn't 'ave any interest in competing with you over it." Spitelout grinned,

"You were too busy fighting and flirting," Stoick elbowed him,

"Oh, and you weren't?"

"Hah! Ah, those were good days, weren't they? Starting brawls to impress the girls…"

"Having contests to see who could kill the most dragons in a single raid…"

"Gobber had all his limbs, I remember,"

"And you were always trying to impress Valka, and usually ended up making a fool of yourself."

"I did not!" They were both laughing very heartily now, to the point where they couldn't eat.

"Of course," Spitelout's grin faded a little, "Valka was rather 'ard to impress wasn't she? I mean, your kill count after a raid never pleased her,"

"Aye," Stoick's grin faded entirely, "she was _always_ convinced that we could end the war some other way,"

"I remember the time she punched Mildew for mocking her ideas," Spitelout said, trying to bring the conversation back to the lightheartedness it had had a few minutes before.

"Well, if those dragons would stop raiding us I'd be perfectly happy to leave 'em alone, but until they stop, what choice do we have but to defend ourselves?"

"Very true,"

"I mean, what do you do if ya find a nest of mice in your house? You get rid of it. It's the same thing with dragons." He took a large gulp of mead, "Granted, we haven't had many raids in the past 8 years,"

"Two, I think,"

"Aye and one of those was just a pair of Gronkles that happened to be flying o'er the island. And the other was a small flock of Nadders. They only took one sheep before we drove 'em off. That was a skirmish, not a real raid. I didn't even get the chance to swing me hammer."

"Still, we 'ave to stay alert."

"Agreed. It's only the calm before the next storm. This war's been going on for far too long for us to hope that it would just stop for no reason."

Spitelout nodded grimly.

"And yet," Stoick went on, "how can we train new recruits to fight dragons when we don't have any locked up?"

"I don't know. Come to think of it, I don't believe we've used those cages since…"

"Since Hiccup died," Stoick said shortly. He put his head in his hands, "and now there's this meeting with this Dragon King. Thor knows what will come of that…I tell ya, Spitelout, there are times when I wish things were simple again. Like they were when I had settled into my role as chief, had a beautiful wife and was expecting our first child…those were probably the happiest days of my life…and then she was taken, and I had to raise Hiccup alone, and he was such a handful…then right when he finally was showing promise, he got taken too…" he took another large gulp of mead and slammed his goblet onto the table, "what did I do to make the Gods punish me so?"

Spitelout had no answer. Nobody did. In fact, Spitelout felt sorrier about Stoick losing Valka than in losing Hiccup, in part because he had lost his own wife nearly ten years ago to illness. Besides, he had liked Valka. She'd had some strange ideas about dragons, but she'd also had a sense of humor and was a tough fighter when she needed to be. Hiccup, on the other hand, had been small, frail, and pathetic when it came to fighting. Once Spitelout had realized how superior his son was physically compared to Hiccup, Spitelout knew that his son might become the chief, which made Hiccup a threat to his ambitions. This had increased his dislike for the boy over the years, though he had never really wanted Hiccup dead—or at least he didn't want to be the one to do the deed. He had always just hoped some accident might befall Hiccup (which wasn't too much to ask for, as Hiccup had often caused accidents when he was alive), or maybe Stoick might just pick Snotlout regardless of whether Hiccup was alive or not. And then as soon as Hiccup was gone, Astrid Hofferson suddenly became a contender for the chiefdom, and he couldn't hope Astrid would meet a similar fate. It seemed a miracle to some that Hiccup had survived as long as he had, but Astrid was much tougher.

"So," Stoick said at last, "going back to your son…tell me honestly, brother: do you really think he is ready to be chief? If I were to die tonight, would Snotlout be able to assume the position tomorrow morning?"

Spitelout considered his answer. He knew perfectly well his son wasn't ready to be chief. Snotlout was very keen to be chief, but he spent too much time trying to flirt with Astrid or show off to anyone present, or causing mischief with the Thorsten Twins. Spitelout had tried for a long time to get Snotlout to focus more, but Snotlout had responded by staying out of the house as much as possible. Spitelout tried to pass it off as youthful energy, even though Snotlout wasn't exactly a child anymore. Still, Spitelout and Stoick had both been hot blooded and irresponsible when they were younger, but they had matured when the time came and he hoped and prayed that Snotlout would too. He would have to if he truly wanted to be chief, otherwise Astrid was certain to get the position.

He finally sighed.

"No. He's not ready. 'e's…well, 'e's not ready yet, but 'e will be!" he added quickly, "I mean ya can't master somethin' as important as leadership in a single day! It takes time, 'ard work, and effort. Just give 'im a chance and a bit of patience, and 'e'll be ready soon enough, I promise you!"

"Which is exactly why I'm leaving him in charge while we're gone," Stoick said patiently,

"And 'ow can you be certain the villagers won't tell you a bunch of lies about 'im when we get back?" Spitelout demanded,

"That might happen, but I'm certain I picked the right people for the job. Though, you know, I could choose someone else to follow me,"

"Like who? Most of the people 'ere are either way too young or nearly as old as we are."

That was one of the reasons for the problems Berk was facing. Around 30 years ago there had been an increase in dragon raids, which resulted in a high mortality rate, especially among infants, and a low birth rate. It had subsided after about five years, but because of this the generation that Astrid and Snotlout belonged to hadn't been very large. That was a key reason for why Stoick was trying to decide between the two of them: nobody else on Berk was old enough to have leadership experience and young enough to be sure to live another couple decades. That left Stoick with about 10 people for options, and out of those 10 only 3 people came to mind: Astrid, who had so far proven to be the best warrior and a firm leader, Snotlout, mostly by virtue of his birth but he had also proven to be a strong fighter, and Fishlegs, who was not much of a fighter or a leader but was probably the most intelligent of the three.

Stoick drained his goblet and stood up. "Well, we shall see what happens when we return, brother. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow getting the ships loaded and organized. Can I count on your help?"

"Always."

"Then let's get some rest. It might be the last good night's sleep we get until we reach Owl Gut Island."

"I know what ya mean," Spitelout said as they exited Mead Hall, "I can never get to sleep when the boat's rocking."


	3. Chapter 3

**I own nothing. All Rights Reserved.**

 **Chapter 3**

 **The Gathering of Chiefs**

The first four days of the voyage to Owl Gut Island were uneventful—by which I mean they were boring. Nobody had anything to do except to pull at an oar all day long or sleep. The sky stayed completely blue, so anyone who wasn't rowing couldn't even try to find shapes in the clouds, and after the second day conversation had dropped to a minimum. There was simply nothing to talk about, save the possibility of the weather turning bad, which nobody wanted to risk bringing up, in case the Gods heard it.

Day five, however, turned out to be a very eventful day. It all began when Stoick spotted a Deadly Nadder flying not too far from the boat.

"Good," he said to himself, "this will brighten things up a bit,"

Due to three centuries of war, Berk's ships were always equipped with nets and large crossbows, in the event of a dragon attack. So Stoick turned to the crew and ordered those not rowing to take up battle stations and bring the Nadder down. They did so with a loud shout and within minutes nets were flying through the air at the dragon.

"It's down!" Stoick shouted, "Good shot, Olaf! Make for that spot and haul it in!"

They rowed fast and with effort pulled the unfortunate dragon onto the deck. It screeched loudly and frantically tried to fight back, but the nets were designed to get tighter the more one struggled with them, and one Viking threw a muzzle around its mouth.

"Right!" Stoick said, holding up an axe, "who wants the honor?"

Several of the crew, including Astrid, Olaf, and Spitelout, raised their hands but before Stoick could come to a decision an ear piercing shriek filled the air.

"NIGHT FURY!"

"GET DOWN!"

The front deck and the Nadder were suddenly encircled by a sickly green cloud.

"Zippleback gas," someone muttered,

"All weapons out! And for Thor's sake, nobody light anything!" Stoick ordered. If the Zippleback gas was ignited it would blow the ship into oblivion.

They stood with their weapons at the ready, but could see nothing. Then all of a sudden something heavy landed on the bow of the ship, causing the stern to rise out of the ocean. They could hear a scratching sound coming from where the Nadder was tied up.

"What's going on?" Stoick shouted as he raised his hammer, "Cover me, I'm going in!" With a roar he charged into the cloud. He had hardly gone five steps, however, when he collided with some black shape. The two fell onto the deck and Stoick realized the shape was a person. Stoick seized the stranger's arm, only to have it slip from his grasp. His opponent jumped to his feet, gave a strange cry, leapt onto the back of another black shape, and vanished.

Stoick was on his feet by this point when the stern of the ship suddenly fell into the water and he was thrown off balance again, and judging by the sounds he heard the rest of the crew had been too.

"Start waving your arms, get this gas out of 'ere!" he heard Spitelout order. When the gas was finally dispersed Stoick could see the Nadder was gone. The net was ripped to shreds, and there were many claw marks on the planks. For a while everyone just stood and stared, trying to register what had just happened.

"Well," the Viking manning the rudder said at last, "that was interesting,"

"What do you make of it?" someone asked him,

"It's quite obvious, isn't it?" Spitelout sneered, "That demon called for 'elp, and the Dragon King responded."

"Did you get a good look at him, Chief?"

Stoick shook his head. All that he had seen only confirmed the vague description they already knew. With a sigh and a shrug he ordered the crew back to their oars.

As Astrid pulled at her oar she could hear whispered conversations from all directions.

"Is he going to come back?"

"Why didn't he fight us?"

"Maybe he's gone back for more dragons"

"Or maybe he's a coward,"

"Why would he go back for more dragons? It's only needs one to set a wooden boat on fire."

"Maybe he didn't want to fight us, maybe he just wanted to save the dragon?"

"Oh come on, why wouldn't he want to fight?"

"Maybe he's a pacifist?"

"Do you even know what that word means?"

"Do you?"

"Yes I do, and a man who rides demons can't possibly be a pacifist. To do something so unnatural can only be done by a monster, and monsters aren't peaceful."

As she listened, Astrid began to feel a bit apprehensive as she considered their chances of getting to Owl Gut Island safely. The attack had been brief, less than two minutes probably, yet if the King had decided to fight them, who knew what could have happened? They were on a wooden boat in the middle of the ocean, there were no ships anywhere near them, and the closest land was the bottom of the sea. The one thing preventing them all from drowning right now was a plank of wood only a few inches thick. If the King came back and decided to attack them for real, they were practically sitting ducks.

She shook her head, as if it would dispel her fears. There was no point in worrying about what she couldn't control. The only thing they could do, she decided, was row faster and get to Owl Gut Island before anything else happened. And if the King did come back, well, if worst came to worst, they would all stand a good chance of reaching Valhalla.

Somewhat reassured, she looked up and Stoick on the bow scanning the horizon and talking to her father. Olaf gave a nod and came over to where she was seated.

"How are you holding up?"

She forced a smile, "Fine. So, no more trapping dragons, I'm guessing?"

"No, we don't to give him a reason to come back,"

"Still, if he'd wanted us dead, wouldn't he have done it already?"

"Maybe. The Chief says we have to go faster from now on. Now that we know he's a threat, we need to get to land, and the other chiefs are going to be very interested with this news."

They reached Owl Gut Island in less than two days, and without anything else happening. The day after their arrival the last of the tribes arrived, and the meeting was set for that night. Due to space constraints chiefs were told to only bring themselves and a few prominent villagers, therefore only Stoick, his brother, Olaf, and Astrid would be representing Berk.

Astrid could not help but feel awed and a bit intimidated when she entered the hall that night. She was fully aware she was in the presence of the greatest and most powerful Vikings in the world. These were the men and women who ruled the archipelago, and they hadn't gotten to such a position by being soft or weak. Nearly every chief was very tall, large, and muscular. An exception to this was Dagur the Deranged, the chief of the Berserkers, who looked rather scrawny when compared to someone like Stoick. Still, he was well known for a bad temper, a well earned nickname, and an almost obsessive love for fighting, especially against dragons, so his physique was never mocked to his face.

She turned her gaze on some of the other chiefs. There was Mogadon the Meathead, chief of the Meathead tribe, one of Berk's neighbors. Like most of the other chiefs he looked very intimidating, largely because of his eye patch and fake leg, which made him appear villainous and a bit unnatural. She didn't see his son Thuggory anywhere. Mogadon was busy talking to Big Boobied Bertha, the leader of the Bog-Burglars. She was a powerfully built woman who looked like she could pull a man in two without any effort. Astrid looked around for her daughter, Camicazi, but didn't see her. Maybe that was a good thing. Camicazi was nice and friendly enough, but she could be reckless, mischievous, and even a bit crazy. In fact, it occurred to Astrid that she might be the youngest person there. Most of the chiefs appeared to have come to the meeting alone, which was fortunate, because the hall was already packed full. There were plenty of chiefs that she didn't recognize, but Stoick seemed to know most of them and chatted with many them as if they were old comrades. One exception to this was a man covered in skull tattoos who was standing silently in a corner gazing about the room like a wolf looking at a flock of sheep to choose the one that would be the easiest meal.

Standing opposite this man was Gort, the chief of the Owl Guts and their host. Like Dagur, he looked a bit small by Viking standards, but he had a reputation for being among the more intelligent and level headed chiefs. Beside him sat his pudgy daughter, Marva, whom Astrid hadn't seen in years. She remembered the time when it a marriage between her and Hiccup had been discussed. When Hiccup had first heard the girl nicknamed "Marva the Larva" might become his wife, he'd fainted. Stoick might have gone along with the marriage regardless of Hiccup's feelings towards it, but Marva was very outspoken about her contempt for Hiccup and had shouted at her father when he had brought the subject up. Gort and Stoick later agreed that there were better ways to maintain alliances. Upon reflection, Astrid decided Marva might have vied with Snotlout in being Hiccup's chief tormentor had she lived on Berk.

Finally Gort went to the front of the hall and pounded a hammer on a table for silence.

"I'll skip the formalities and get down to business, if that's all right. You all know why I've called this meeting. There is a man out in there somewhere who can ride dragons. What are we going to do about him?"

"Do we have any proof that this man even exists?" demanded Mogadon,

Stoick looked about ready to respond but Dagur beat him to it.

"Proof? I'll say we've got proof! Do you know what he's done to me? Four times in the past 2 months he's stolen my dragons! Every time I catch one, he comes in the dead of night and releases it! My axe hasn't spilled dragon blood for weeks now!"

"So post more guards," one chief said drily,

"I have! He keeps slipping past them somehow! And it gets worse: he's stealing dragons all over the place! I've gone out dragon hunting many times and not seen a single beast after days of searching! He's taking them all for himself! If we don't act fast, there will be no more dragons to hunt and fight with, and then things will get boring! Why, we'll have _peace_!"

"I thought that's what everyone wanted," a man dressed entirely in black said.

"Not me! My weapons get lonely if they don't have blood on them." He looked at his axe sympathetically and said to it "don't you worry, little guy, once we find that man you'll be covered in blood again, and all will be well,"

"As for proof," Stoick interrupted loudly, "I've a witness here who's seen this man 3 times now and somethin' which didn't seem important 'til now. You're all aware of what happened to my son? Well, about a week after his…death, well, my blacksmith comes over to tell me that the dragons we had in our ring had escaped. I went to see, and sure enough, they were all gone, but not one cage showed damage. At first we all thought the Thorsten Twins had done it: they've been causing mischief since they were born, but they've never confessed to it, which is odd for them. Now that I've heard Dagur's news, I'm wondering if this man had been the one to let them out."

His news didn't seem to impress the other Vikings.

"Stoick, that's nothing new,"

"That happened to us last spring"

"It happened to me twice in the last year,"

"Does this happen every time you catch dragons?" Gort asked, and the other chiefs nodded,

"When we _can_ catch them,"

"Aye, there haven't been many raids in the past 5 years,"

"We haven't had a serious raid for nearly 10,"

"So," Stoick interrupted, "this man is taking the dragons we catch and preventing us from catching more. Why?"

"I doubt anyone here could tell you, Stoick." Gort said bitterly, "But you said you had a witness, didn't you?"

"Aye, I've got one. Astrid, lass, could you…?"

Astrid told what all of her encounters with the Dragon King. Unlike the news Stoick had shared, everybody listened with great interest. Nobody spoke throughout the duration, but as soon as she had finished they at once began asking so many questions that it was impossible to understand what anyone was saying. Suddenly an all too familiar sound resounded across the room.

"NIGHT FURY!"

"GET DOWN!"

Everybody dove for the ground instinctively, except for one man. He remained standing and started laughing.

" _That_ got your attention, didn't it?"

The other chiefs got up, some sheepishly, others outraged.

"That wasn't funny!" shouted Mogadon,

"Yes it was and you know it. The most powerful Vikings in the world dropping onto the ground like a bunch of possums. All because one person makes a sound to get them to be quiet so we can have a serious discussion."

Astrid eyed the speaker. She knew from his voice that he was the one who had thought peace was what everyone wanted. Now, like everyone else, she took the time to actually observe him. He was tall and slender, but seemed fairly muscular. He was dressed entirely in black, including a mask that covered his whole head, so she couldn't see his face or even his hair. The only part of him that wasn't black was a dull silver prosthetic attached to his left leg just below the knee. Astrid sensed there was something familiar about this man, but couldn't decide if she knew him or not.

Apparently, neither could the other Vikings.

"Is that the way you talk to your betters?"

"What's a 'possums'?"

"We _are_ having a serious discussion!"

"We _were_ until _you_ started making your dragon noises!"

"Who are you, anyway?" Stoick demanded, "What tribe are you from?"

"Why are you wearing a mask?"

It took another Night Fury roar to get the room to be silent again.

"I represent 'The Sanctuary,'" announced the stranger, "my tribe is very new, so it's unlikely you know about us."

There was murmuring as people asked each other if they'd ever heard of such a tribe or if they knew anything about it.

"I didn't send a summons to any such tribe" Gort frowned.

"You didn't, and you wouldn't have. As it is, most of the members of my tribe are not exactly…well, fond of you guys. Some are very bitter in fact. Still, I thought that this meeting that might be an important moment in our history, so I felt I had to come." the stranger was clearly enjoying speaking vaguely and making everyone angrier. Dagur clearly had had enough, for he grabbed his axe and shouted "I'm sick of you already!"

"I'd put that down if I were you Dagur. You don't want to try me."

" _Try_ you!" snorted Dagur as he pushed his way towards the man, "I think I will!"

"That's enough!" Gort shouted, "I summoned us here in the name of peace and common civility, and if anyone here can't behave themselves, I will personally throw them out right now!"

"I'd listen to him, Dagur," the stranger laughed, "you know, Gort, you're about the only Viking here I respect."

"I'm flattered," Gort replied dryly, "but I don't know who you are."

"Yes you do. You've been wondering about me for quite a while now."

"I've been—?"

"All right, I'm done with the games. Hello, assorted Viking Chiefs, I'm sorry for coming uninvited, but I thought it just wouldn't be right to not be present at my own meeting. That's right: I'm the one whom you've named 'The Dragon King.' Now that we've got introductions out of the way, why don't we get down to business?"


	4. Chapter 4

**I own nothing. All Rights Reserved.**

 **I would like to thank everyone who's been reviewing my story. I'm glad to see people like it a lot and I hope they'll enjoy what's coming.**

 **Now, I have been getting a lot of reviews asking me to update more frequently. My goal is to add a new chapter every Saturday. When I began publishing this story I had the first 12 chapters already written, so by updating weekly I ensure I have enough material to last for several months, which gives me plenty of time to write later chapters.**

 **Chapter 4**

 **The Terms of the King**

At first there was a stunned silence.

"Before you get any ideas," the Dragon King said loudly, "at this moment there are 10 dragons sitting on the roof listening very intently, and if they get the slightest hint that I am in danger they were stop at nothing to save me, and if I am killed before they can, no human will get out of this room alive. So leave your weapons where they are and nobody gets hurt."

Stoick's thoughts suddenly turned to another gathering of chiefs where a madman named Drago Bludvist had come with dragons. Stoick had been the sole survivor. He knew other chiefs had heard about that night and had little doubt that they were also thinking of it.

Finally Gort spoke up. "How did you know about this meeting?"

"You weren't exactly keeping it a secret, Gort. Besides, I have eyes and ears all over the place. It's lucky for you some other people didn't show up uninvited, given how pathetic the security is."

"You mean you've been spying on us!" Mogadon exclaimed,

"I prefer to think of it as 'keeping informed.' And believe it or not, thanks to my agents, I've been able to prevent a lot of dragons from attacking your villages."

Astrid noticed several chiefs shift their weight uneasily. They were clearly wondering what else his agents had learned.

"So," The King said after a pause "I heard about this meeting and I decided to come and offer my terms for peace. I know Dagur doesn't want to hear them, but is anybody else willing to listen?"

"Peace?" Stoick repeated, "Peace! What would a demon lover know about peace?" There were nods of agreement.

"What would a Viking know about peace? You lot talk about ending the war all the time, yet still you find reasons to keep fighting."

"That's because the dragons keep coming!" Shouted Mogadon

"We need to defend ourselves!"

"Besides, it's fun!" Dagur added, but everyone ignored him.

"It's those blasted dragon's fault! They've killed my wife and son! Those beasts have killed _hundreds_ of us!" Stoick roared.

"And Vikings have killed _thousands_ of _them_!" The King said loudly, "how many mates and sons have _you_ killed, Chief Stoick? How many more will you kill? To what end? Will it bring your loved ones back? Or have you just grown addicted to killing and find dragons a convenient excuse to satisfy your bloodlust?"

Stoick visibly forced himself to regain his composure.

"I know I can't bring my family back," he said slowly and with great deliberation, "And for a while I did only fight for revenge and hate. But now I know that for each devil I kill, I prevent another husband or parent from going through what I did. By killing dragons, I'm saving lives. Is that wrong?" He looked around the room, "is that wrong?"

"Not at all, Stoick,"

"It's very noble of you,"

"And we do the same," Bertha added, "We fight to save lives and defend our homes. Why shouldn't we?"

"But that's not the only reason you kill dragons," The King argued back "What about those dragons you kill in arenas, as part of your 'coming of age' rituals? How is _that_ saving lives or defending homes?" He looked around "I can see that nobody can't give answer that. Don't you see? Vikings may have gotten into this war with noble intentions, but now things have fallen into a blood bath. You stage battles to the death simply for the thrill of it, you treat your fallen opponents as trophies instead of as living and thinking creatures, and you glorify your kills, even when they often amount to putting an axe through a dragon that's trapped on the ground and can't defend itself. Think of that dragon I saved from your ship, Stoick. Where was the honor or glory in killing a creature stuck underneath a net and tied up?"

"That reminds me. You come near my ships again and I'll put a spear through your heart.

"I could have done that to you when I was saving my friend Stormfly. She laid eggs only a week ago, she was just out looking for fish to feed to her babies when they hatch, and you decided to kill her. She was just minding her own business and you trapped her in a net and nearly cut her head off. How was that in any way self defense?"

"You talk about dragons like they've got feelings." Gort observed,

"They do! They're kind, friendly, and intelligent creatures when treated properly."

"They're devils who understand nothing but killing and eating," someone growled.

"And what are you?" The King demanded, "Exactly what have you done all your life besides kill and eat? But we're getting sidetracked here. I'm not here to debate ethics, I'm here to offer my terms for a peaceful coexistence between humans and dragons. By agreeing to them, we won't need to be 'saving lives' and 'defending homes' from dragons anymore. You want this war to end, right?"

"Tell you what," Spitelout said with a sly smile "you just tell us where the nest is, and we'll agree to them terms. Ow's that sound?"

"The nest you're thinking about was abandoned nearly 8 years ago." He pulled out a map, "it's located right here. You'll find a nest of Smothering Smokebreaths and a few Terrible Terrors living in a giant pile of bones, but that's all."

"It was abandoned 8 years ago?" Stoick asked, and suddenly he began connecting facts in his head.

"Yes it was, and I will explain why. I will explain exactly why dragons have been raiding your villages, and why they are not doing so anymore. I will explain why this war has been going on in the first place, and I will explain some aspects of dragon behavior and society that no one else here has ever known. Will you listen, or are you all afraid to hear me out?"

Some looked skeptical, but most looked genuinely interested. Dagur learned forward with the look of a man about to eat a delicious dinner.

Gort looked around and then nodded. "Proceed."

"8 years ago, I was flying with my best friend Toothless—he has retractable teeth, so don't laugh about it!—when we came to the nest at Helheim's Gate. Inside it was a dragon the size of a small mountain. If you go there now, you can see its remains for yourself. That dragon, which I have named the Red Death, was the Queen of that nest. All nests have either an Alpha or Beta. Their job is to defend the nest, but every now and then one turns into a tyrant. That was what happened here. That particular Red Death began ordering her subjects to bring her more and more food or else be eaten themselves. And she meant it. I saw her swallow a Gronkle whole, and she had a mouth big enough to probably fit 10 Gronkles. That's how big she was. When I saw her the reason for the war became clear, and so did the solution. If she wasn't the Queen anymore, the dragons wouldn't be forced to feed her, so they'd have less reason to raid villages, which meant fewer chances for humans to fight them. I tried to reason with her, but she wouldn't listen. So Toothless and I challenged her for the title. The dragons in the nest joined with us, and we killed her—much to my regret, but she rejected all of my offers for a peaceful solution."

"How did you do that?" Bertha asked,

"We got her into the air, where her gluttonous body made her slow and an easy target, and we blew holes in her wings. We led her into a fast descent, and then Toothless fired a plasma blast right into her opened mouth. The blast reacted with the flammable gases inside of her and caused her to combust from the inside out. Furthermore, the holes in her wings prevented her from pulling out of her dive and she smashed into the ground. It was quite an explosion."

Astrid could imagine the Thorsten Twins reverently saying "Awesome."

"So now, because he had been the challenger, Toothless became the leader of the dragons, but since it had been my plan, the dragons also saw me as their leader. And they still do." He added rather proudly.

It's a lot to take in, Astrid thought, but is he telling the truth?

"You said this Queen was controlling these dragons," the shortest chief in the room said, "how?"

"Mind control. All Kings and Queens of Dragons have this ability. They can order any dragon to do anything they want, and they have no say in the matter. Toothless could order Stormfly to smash her eggs, and she would do it, though she wouldn't know what she was doing."

"But how did you attack it if this beast could control minds?" Gort asked.

"It's a bit complicated, but mind control only works under certain conditions. The first time it is used on a dragon it has to be through eye contact. Stormfly is subject to Toothless's mind control now, but if she went to another nest, she would be completely free until she looked that nest's monarch in the eye. Once she did, she would always be subject to that monarch's call, provided she was within range. Mind Control only works within a specific but substantial radius"

"But why didn't the dragons just fly out of that radius and escape, if this Queen was so bad?"

"Many did, but there was a catch: nobody knew how far the Queen's mind control could reach. These powers can strengthen with time, and that Queen had been alive for over 3 centuries. About all any dragon could do was pick a direction and start flying as fast as they could for as long as they could, and hope that the next time the Queen sent out her summons they would be far enough away to hear it. But suppose they weren't far enough away? Then they'd be forced to go back and explain what took them so long and why they were trying to desert their Queen. Toothless later told me that she often just ate the latecomers regardless of what they had been doing. And those dragons that did manage to escape her powers weren't going to return and tell others how far they had to go to reach safety. That would have been suicide."

"But how did you challenge her, if she could control the mind of—Toothless?" Astrid interrupted "unless he was from another nest?"

The King turned to face her. "I remember that night we saved you," he said softly, "Yes, I remember you very well…Astrid,"

Astrid felt chills running down her spine.

"How do you know her name?" Stoick said sharply.

"Like I told you, I have eyes and ears everywhere. Besides, you've said it several times during this very meeting. Anyway, to answer her question, Toothless _was_ from that particular nest, but when a dragon challenges a monarch for the title, in that instant, all mind powers are lost, and they do not return until the contest is decided. I'm not certain why, but I imagine it's so that the monarch can't use that power to keep the title. Dragon monarchy is determined by combat, and to be able to control minds and movements gives one side an extremely unfair advantage. Of course, monarchs can, and do, use their powers to prevent their subjects from challenging them, but they can't control every dragon all the time, and there's always the chance a dragon from another nest might come for the title. It's rather like how humans fight for titles by single combat: you have to choose certain weapons and must follow certain rules in order to claim victory legitimately."

It was a good thing Fishlegs isn't here, Astrid thought, he'd never be able to stop asking questions about dragons.

Marva spoke up for the first time.

"So you're controlling dragons through mind control?"

"I don't control any dragons,"

"Then how do you get them to do your bidding? Through intimidation and fear?"

"No—" but Stoick interrupted him.

"Are you in league with Drago Bludvist?"

The roof suddenly shook and they heard the dragons on it cry out fearfully.

"The man you just mentioned is one of the few people most dragons here are afraid of. He also happens to be one of my most frequent opponents." The King said grimly.

"So you've seen him?" Marva asked excitedly, "what was it like?"

"What do you mean by most frequent opponents?" Stoick said over her.

"I mean that for years Drago has been trying to capture dragons to create a dragon army." Stoick paled. His worst fears were being confirmed. "My friends and I have been doing our utmost to stop him. And we've had good success on that, haven't we?" he directed his voice towards the ceiling, "didn't we drive him out of the archipelago just under two months ago?" They could hear the dragons make noises that sounded like they were agreeing. "Chief Stoick, I understand how you feel about that man, but for the time being you have nothing to worry about. At the moment he's gone, but if he returns I will certainly warn you."

"You drove him away?" Marva was aghast.

"Yes we did. We smashed his machines, freed his dragons, and burned most of his boats. He had to flee for it and we pursued."

"But he escaped?" Marva asked eagerly,

"…Yes, he escaped. I received a message 10 days ago that my scouts lost track of him in the Normandy region of France. We're still searching, but for the moment he's gone."

"Some bunch of scouts you've got" Marva sneered.

"Marva, if you say one more disrespectful word you shall have to leave."

"And are you going to make me, Father?"

"I could if you want, Gort," Dagur offered,

"I believe," Bertha said loudly to interrupt them, "you offered us terms for peace. What are they?"

The Dragon King clapped his hands together. "That's more like it! Now, I have told you already that there is no more need to fight. The Queen is dead and her former subjects have no reason to raid you so much. There is no reason to continue this war except for vengeance, which will solve nothing. All we can do now is declare peace and ensure the fighting stops."

"And just forget about those who've died?" Stoick growled, "Just forget about my wife and son?"

"Why should forgetting your son be hard now? It wasn't 10 years ago," the King mumbled softly,

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing important. But to answer you, certainly don't forget them! All the same, as I said earlier, can you bring them back? What good does it do to fight in someone's memory forever? Will your wife thank you for it later? Wouldn't your lost ones feel happier if they knew that the fighting had stopped forever, rather than seeing you always fighting to avenge them? Or…"and here he looked Stoick square in the eye, "are you reluctant to stop fighting because you're afraid of change?"

"I fear nothing." Stoick told him coldly,

"Oh I think you do. I think everyone here is afraid of things being new and different. You've all succeeded in your current way of life, you've found it comfortable and enjoyable, and now that I have come to tell you it's time to change it, you don't want to listen. I think that's the other reason for why you keep fighting: it's something you know and understand, and you're used to it. You live in the past because you're afraid of a different and unknown future. It's nothing to be ashamed of, but we can't let fear control us. Things are changing whether we like it or not, and the question for all of us now is this: are we going to change with it or be left behind?

"So here are my terms for peace: in the first place, I claim several islands as a home for dragons. Don't worry; they're far enough away from your villages that you won't desire them later if your islands get too crowded. They're also fairly inaccessible for humans. My second term is this: all dragon killing must stop, save in self defense. There must be no more battles with dragons in your kill rings, and no more hunting them for sport. In return for this, I give you my solemn oath that I will do my utmost to stop any raids from happening. I excuse any deaths in self defense, for I realize you will naturally fight to defend yourself. I completely understand and forgive that, but I would like to remind you that dragons will defend themselves too. My third term is this: my islands are opened to any ship in need of a harbor, though we don't have one yet, but my tribe will not take sides in any Viking conflict. If the Berserkers and Bog-Burglars go to war tomorrow, that is their affair, not ours, and we will not step in unless it comes to us, in which case we will fight to defend ourselves, but nobody else. As for my fourth and final term, nobody will integrate dragons into their village."

"Why on earth would we do such a thing?" Mogadon exclaimed,

"For power. I know some of you here would capture dragons and use them for selfish reasons. You'd use them as Drago Bludvist would: to conquer, to control, and to spread fear. I won't have that. Until I see proof that people are willing to see dragons for what they truly are, it's best that we keep dragons and humans separate. Do you agree to these conditions?"

"In return, what will you give us?" Gort asked,

"As I said, I shall prevent dragon raids. Think about it. No more raids means no more burnt houses, no more destroyed crops or stolen livestock. You won't have to worry about rationing during the winter, or waste time and resources rebuilding. You won't have to go to sleep fearing the next raid will come that night. You won't have to give feed the dragons in your cells because there won't be any. You'll see fewer deaths by dragon fire, more children will grow into grandparents, and they won't see their parents die before they've grown up. The losses Chief Stoick has fought to prevent others from going through can become a reality. All that is yours for agreeing to four terms which have little impact on you anyway."

His words had struck a chord, and Astrid could see many chiefs were starting to realize what agreeing to these terms might mean.

"Where are these islands you're claiming?" Bertha asked,

"Yes," Dagur added eagerly, "if we're to know what islands to avoid, we must know where they are."

The King, rather reluctantly, pointed to a spot on his map.

"It's right here. See, I am showing you where it is as a gesture of faith that you will not attempt to conquer it." He slowly started moving towards the door, "I'm sure you'll want some time to think this over and discuss it amongst yourselves, so I'll leave you to it. Keep in mind, though, that I'm going to carry out my side of these terms whether you like it or not."

"And how can we contact you if we do agree to them?" asked Gort,

He shrugged, "just say it out loud in a public place, and I'll send a letter by Terror thanking you." He formally bowed his head. "Thank you for your time. I sincerely hope you all will agree to peace, if not for your own sakes, than for the sake of your future generations."

"And what if we refuse your peace?" Dagur asked scornfully,

"Then I'll let all dragons know to never go near your island again, and consider you an enemy. Please keep in mind, if you attack us, we will defend ourselves. You might win the fight, but will the cost be worth it?" He headed for the door.

"By the way," Stoick said suddenly, "you said your dragon fired a plasma blast. We only know of one dragon that fires plasma, so does that mean you ride a Night Fury?"

"Yes it does."

"And have you ever seen any other Night Furies?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"How do you control it?" Dagur interrupted eagerly.

"With one foot pushing a petal," chuckled the King, though nobody else understood the joke, "but seriously, I don't control Toothless. I repeat: I don't control any dragon. If I ride Toothless, it's because he lets me. If I am a King of Dragons, as you say I am, it's only because the dragons I live with do as I ask because they want to. Not because I have some kind of power over them."

"What do those creatures call you if not King?" Marva asked scornfully,

"Aye, what is your name?" asked Bertha

"Behind my back, the dragons mostly call me 'The Hatchling,' though they think I don't know that!" he added loudly, and they heard what sounded like the dragons on the roof laughing, "As for my name, I have many names. Vikings alone have given me about a dozen. Dragon Emperor, Demon Lover, Traitor, and Sorcerer, to name a few, in India I'm known as the Friend of the Emperor, and in China I was known as the Emperor's Dragon's Dentist."

"But what do you call yourself?" Gort asked,

"I don't,"

"What did your parents name you when you were born?" Spitelout asked impatiently,

"I forgot it a long time ago."

"Who _were_ your parents?" One Chief asked eagerly.

"They're dead far as I'm concerned, so it doesn't matter. The future, not the past, is what I came here for, and I have presented it to you all. What you choose to do is your affair now, but I deeply hope you'll agree to my offer of peace." With those final words the Dragon King left. One Viking rushed after him but came back seconds later and exclaimed "he's gone!"

"Well, that's to be expected," Gort sighed, "he does have dragons, after all."

"I'd love to get my hands on those," Dagur grinned,

"A strange man," mused one Chief, "'dead as far as I'm concerned,' which implies they're still alive but estranged from him."

"But is he even a Viking?"

"He speaks and understands Norse perfectly!"

"And he couldn't have learned it when he came here?"

"Stoick, out of curiosity, why did you ask him if he's come across any other Night Furies?" Big-Boobied Bertha asked over this discussion.

"Because if he rides one and has never seen any other, then that means that Night Fury was the one that killed my son." Stoick replied darkly,

"And what does that mean for you, Stoick?" Gort asked sharply. Stoick looked around the room uneasily.

"It means nothing. He was right: nothing I can do will bring ma boy back." He was actually lying, in case the King was still listening to them.

"Well, this meeting certainly didn't go the way we were expecting," one chief remarked, "so what are we going to do now?"

"I can't accept any terms until I've presented them to my people," Bertha said, "they have a right to know about this."

"I agree. I move we postpone any decisions until we've had a chance to see where our tribes stand on these matters," Gort said formally.

"I decide what my tribe will do, not you, Gort, and not anybody else here," Dagur growled, "What I decide is my business, and I will not accept these stupid terms."

Mogadon nodded approvingly "I agree. My tribe is not subject to anything the rest of you agree on."

Gort sighed. "I was hoping perhaps we could unite and form a strong coalition, but you seem to want to go your own way and remain divided."

"And who would lead such a union? You, Father?" Marva sneered,

"Marva, would you please not use that tone here?"

"I'll use whatever tone I like. What are you going to do about it?"

"Beat her, Gort. That's what I'd do if I had kids. It's the only way they learn respect." Dagur commented. Stoick cleared his throat for silence.

"Getting back on subject, I agree we should leave any decisions until we've talked it over with our tribes. I also agree that what the Berserkers or Lavalouts decide makes no difference to what the Hairy Hooligans decide. But I've got a notion in ma old numbskull. This island of his seems none too far from Berk. Suppose I sent some people to this place to have a look at it?"

"It _would_ help to know what we're up against," one chief observed,

"But Stoick, what if he kills them, or takes them prisoner?" Bertha exclaimed.

"Then we'll know we're up against a monster who should be killed at once," Stoick replied grimly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Some Decisions Are Made**

They had returned to Berk the day before, and Stoick had summoned everyone to a mass meeting in Mead Hall. Not one villager wasn't amazed at the story he told them. Most were shocked that the King, who had remained secretive for so long, had come in person, and an equal number were outraged about the idea of making peace with dragons in a way that did not include the extinction of the species.

"He wants us to stop killing them!"

"He claims islands for them!"

"He lives with demons!"

"He's a demon himself!"

This kind of talk had begun during the meeting and had not stopped, though the meeting had broken up the day before. It wasn't the only subject of conversation, however. The delegates had returned to be told about in their absence Spitelout's house had been robbed.

Snotlout informed Stoick and his father that somebody had broken into his house while he was off doing his chiefly duties and made off with a substancial amount from the money chest. Not long afterwards the Twins had been seen firing a bag from a catapult into the ocean.

The Twins were immediately questioned by Stoick. They gleefully confessed to firing a bag of money away, and explained that they had just wanted to see if would have made a bigger splash than a rock of the same size would. However, they insisted they had not stolen it. The bag had been left in front of their homes one morning with a note that read " _I wonder how big a splash this will make_." When asked where the note was, they admitted it had disappeared.

The Twins claimed they had no idea who was behind this but thought it was probably the Dragon King. Nobody else felt any reason to believe them, even their infirm parents. After all, they were notorious on Berk for being the biggest troublemakers, the chief cause of destruction apart from dragons, and devoted lovers of anything dangerous or harmful. Had they not nearly blown up Stoick's house a few weeks before? Spitelout had been visibly trembling with rage when he had learned of this, and might have murdered those two if there hadn't been witnesses present.

Remarkably, that had been about the only thing to go wrong during Stoick's absence, and for the rest of the village it became overshadowed by discussions of the Dragon King's visit.

"I can't figure out how he did it," Snotlout said loudly as he and Fishlegs walked to Mead Hall to get some food, "how has he been able to spy on us?"

"Well, he's got Thor knows how many dragons at his disposal, and not all of them are larger than storage sheds. The Fireworm and the Terrible Terror are just two species which could easily hide out in a village without being noticed."

Snotlout could not think of a way to answer this. After a moment's thought he decalred "well if I ever get my hands on one of those spies, it'll never bring another message back to him. I'll rip it to shreds and send the demon lover it's torn up wings and hang the head on my wall! I'll show him my raw Viking prowess and beat him to a pulp!"

Once inside the hall they were joined by the Thorsten Twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who did not seem in the least bit distressed by the fact that they had just been convicted of robbery.

"So did you hear the news?" Tuffnut asked eagerly, "the Dragon King came to the chief's meeting!"

"Tuff, that's what everyone was told yesterday," Fishlegs said, rolling his eyes.

"We were?"

"Yes, idiot!" his sister Ruffnut said,

"Idiot yourself!"

"Idiot yourself again!"

"Idiot yourself again again!"

"Idiot yourself again infinity!"

"Say that to my butt, fist-elf!"

"Say that to my fist, butt-elf!"

"That's what I said! You're stealing my catchphrases—whatever that means—why I'll—" But Ruffnut slugged him in the mouth and the two went down on the floor wrestling. Snotlout went back to his food, trying to ignore them, until one of them unintentionally hit him in the back, and without hesitation he joined in the scuffle.

As the three of them rolled around on the floor shouting all sorts of names at each other Fishlegs stood up and headed for the door, muttering something about eating outside. As soon as he was outside, however, two men placed themselves right in front of him and blocked his way.

"Where ya goin', Fishy?" the taller one named Dogsbreath leered.

"Um—home?" Fishlegs suggested.

"That's a pretty nice looking lunch ya got there, Fishy," the other one, named Hognose, commented.

"Yes, and there are a lot more just like it over there, so why don't you go get some and let me enjoy mine?" Fishlegs said quickly.

"Oh, but we want _yers_ ," Dogsbreath snickered, "after all, we're friends, _right_?"

"An friends don't let their friends starve now, _do_ they?" Hognose added,

"Or do things that deserve a good punch in the face,"

"And don't think yer safe because such a punch would make ya drop the food on the ground,"

"Coz we wouldn't punch ya _now_ ,"

"We'd come after ya some night when nobody's around to 'elp ya,"

"Then give ya a good bruisin' like we used to do to Useless,"

"But since we're friends, we'll be nice to ya. For 10 pieces o' silver, ya can keep yer lunch and not get a beatin'— _this_ week."

Fishlegs sighed, feeling there was no way out of this one. He knew the two wouldn't beat him up here, but they could easily come after him later. He could do his utmost to avoid them, but sooner or later they'd get him, and the longer it took the worse the beating would be. He could complain about it later to his parents or the Chief, but they had all heard those complaints before, especially when Hiccup was alive, and the Chief would probably just tell him that a true Viking should be able to defend himself. Besides, they'd probably beat him up in revenge later. No punishments had ever seemed to any effect on the two or lessened their delight in making those younger than them miserable. So he gave them the money and walked away.

He walked along feeling miserable and wondering why he still put up with those two. He was 23 for Odin's sake, and they were only a year older! They weren't exactly kids anymore! He wondered if this was how Hiccup had often felt when he had been alive, and decided Hiccup had probably felt even worse. At least he had some friends who he could talk to, and he knew that his family would help him if he asked (though in this instance he knew it would not do him any good). Hiccup, on the other hand, had been friendless since before he was 10 years old, and his father had begun to neglect him long before that. In fact, Fishlegs could barely recall seeing Stoick showing any real affection for Hiccup, at least in public.

He remembered the days when they had been friends, running through the woods trying to hunt for trolls, which they both insisted were real, building forts and having pinecone wars, climbing trees, playing games with the others, or trying to wrestle with each other, or fight with toy swords. That had been a long time ago, of course, and things had changed.

He sighed, and his thoughts turned back to his current dilemma. As he often did when faced with a problem, Fishlegs analyzed the situation with a detached, unemotional, and logical mindset. He concluded that the problem was simply a physical one. Dogsbreath and Hognose together were too strong for him to fight by himself, and they were aware of that. If they wanted something they could simply use force to obtain it or, if he stood up to them, they could use force to punish him. It had been that way ever since they were children, and as a result those two had long been in the habit of using force to get what they wanted, which nowadays was money. When they were younger they had often just bullied for the fun of it, but once they had gotten older they were constantly in debt from gambling, so, being against working unless forced to, they usually resorted to getting it by threat. For a long time Hiccup had been the main target for their bullying, simply because he was so physically frail he made the easiest target and couldn't do anything about it.

Fishlegs had been a target as well, and to save himself he started hanging out with Snotlout more often. Dogsbreath and Hognose had seldom targeted him, mostly because even back then they had expected him to be the next chief and were anxious to please him. Snotlout, for his part, had then and still idolized them. So since Fishlegs couldn't beat the enemy, he joined them. It was a perfectly rational decision, and perhaps the one he regretted the most.

How many times had it hurt him to watch them punch Hiccup in the face, or tie him to a tree, or just taunt him with horrible words while he walked through the village, clearly trying not to react, Fishlegs had long ago lost count. He'd never actually taken part in hurting Hiccup, but he hadn't done anything to stop it either, so that wasn't much consolation. And from a selfish point of view, abandoning his best friend to their tormentors had been all for nothing. Once Hiccup had died, the favorite punching bag was gone, and Fishlegs became once again the main target. Granted, Snotlout didn't bully him much. Snotlout had become increasingly obsessed with Astrid, the chiefdom, and showing off, so bullying or extortion wasn't high on his priority list anymore. Perhaps, Fishlegs mused, Snotlout _had_ matured in some ways.

Once again he sighed and his thoughts returned to his current dilemma. He knew what the problem was, and knew there were about only two permanent solutions to it: he could muscle up so that _he_ would be the physically intimidating one, a solution he had attempted before many times with minimal success, or he could find some way to get those two exiled or thrown in jail for life. Such sentences were for only extreme law violations, however, and he knew Dogsbreath and Hognose had the brains not to go that far, at least not yet anyway. He decided his only possible solution at the moment was to just forget about it, to avoid them as much as possible, and go find something to read. It was just possible, he told himself as an afterthought, that if Astrid succeeded Stoick she would banish those two. He pictured what their expressions would be like when that sentence was being announced, and felt a lot better.

Stoick was having lunch with Gobber the blacksmith in the forge. Gobber was a short and squat man with a long blond moustache. Years ago he had lost a leg and an arm at different times to dragon. Now he hobbled about on a metal peg leg and had built for himself a fake arm with interchangeable hand parts capable of doing a variety of tasks. Among other things, for blacksmithing he had a piece with a hammer attached to it, for fighting he'd built a hand with an axe attached to it, and for meals he had arm which had a mug connected to it, which he now took a big gulp from, only to drop one of his fake stone teeth into it. He'd lost a few teeth when a dragon tail had got him in the mouth.

"So," Stoick said as they ate, "how did Snotlout do?"

"Well, aside from the robbery, 'e' did pretty well, Stoick,"

"That's what everyone's been saying. They're saying that Mildew was almost pleasant and the twins didn't destroy anything—aside from my brother's money chest," a dark look came into his eyes.

"There's no chance o' recoverin' the money, I'm afraid. It's at the bottom o' the sea now."

"I just don't get it. Those two have never been interested in money before, why should they be interested now? I'm more surprised that it wasn't Hognose or Dogsbreath: I hear they're always losing money gambling. I've been wondering where they keep getting the money for those bets. I know they don't steal it. And why should Ruffnut and Tuffnut rob Spitelout to get it? Wouldn't it be easier to steal from their parents?" The Thorsten parents were both rather sickly these days and had little control over their children. Some suspected that the Twins themselves were the reason their parents were constantly in poor health.

"These are the Twins yer talkin' about Stoick. Since when do they do things the easy way? As fer Dog and Hog, ah don't know wat they do. So, what's the punishment fer the twins gonna be?"

"They'll be doing whatever work Spitelout wants until the money has been paid back. That'll probably take a month or more." He sighed, "And nothing else went wrong? Snotlout handled himself properly?"

"Well, he didn't drop the ego and expected ev'ry person 'ere to call 'im all kinds o' big fancy titles, which ah donna think he actually knew the meanings fer, ah think Fishlegs suggested them, but aside fer all that, he ran things decently enough. Or maybe ev'ryone jest went about their routines like always."

"Still, I'm glad to hear this. It seems Spitelout was right about giving him a chance. Of course, Astrid must have a turn before I decide anything."

"Wat reason will you 'ave for bein' away this time?"

"Oh something will come up. There's always some diplomacy to take care of, and I'm sure the other chiefs will want to talk more about this Dragon King. Speaking of which, what do you think about this man and his terms?"

"'Onestly, Chief, I'd take 'em. If it means no more death or destruction because o' dragons, I'd call it a fair price to pay. Let 'im take his islands and keep 'is dragon friends, and if 'e leaves us alone, that's fine with me. Wat do _ye_ think about it?"

Stoick's eyes glinted. "That man rides the dragon that killed Hiccup."

"Are ye sure 'bout that?"

"We know it was a Night Fury that carried Hiccup off, and he said so himself he's never seen another Night Fury."

"Hmm. O' course, 'e might not know that it took the lad. It might've taken 'im before the King tamed it."

"Or maybe he ordered it to take him. Maybe Hiccup has been that man's prisoner for 8 years."

"Why would 'e keep 'Iccup a prisoner for tha long?"

"I don't know."

"And if 'e did take the boy prisoner, why 'aven't we 'eard about it? Stoick, I know yer tryin' to stay 'opeful, but I jest donna see 'ow 'Iccup could still be alive."

When Hiccup had been abducted, Stoick had clung to a faint hope that maybe Hiccup had found a way to free himself from the dragon. Perhaps the boy had fought back or pulled some trick to get it to drop him. Of course, there were plenty of objections to these hopes. If the dragon had dropped him while flying over land, Hiccup would surely have been killed when he hit the ground. If they had been over the sea, Hiccup might have survived the fall, but unless he had fallen near land he would have drowned. Stoick didn't know how good of a swimmer Hiccup had been. Then, assuming the dragon had dropped Hiccup into the sea yet near enough to swim for shore, why hadn't Hiccup returned yet? If the land had been inhabited, either the chief there would have sent Hiccup back, either out of goodness or to claim a reward. If it had been an island inhabited by enemies, like the Outcasts, they would have held Hiccup as a hostage and probably sent a ransom demand.

Either way, Berk would have heard about it. And if Hiccup had made it to shore somewhere but had no means of returning, that meant that the island would have to be deserted, and Stoick highly doubted Hiccup could survive on his own in the wild for that long. It was also crazy to assume Hiccup had been kept alive by the dragon for some reason. He had held all his life that Dragons always went for the kill, so there was no reason for a dragon to keep the boy alive for 8 years. But if Hiccup had been held prisoner by the Dragon King…it was a long shot with a lot of unexplainable questions and Stoick knew it, but he had a sliver of hope in him that refused to die out. What occupied his thoughts more, however, was the Night Fury. Stoick had no doubts that it was his son's abductor, and if he couldn't save his son, he could at least avenge him.

Ever since Valka had been taken he had sworn vengeance on the dragon that had taken her. That particular dragon, however, had never been seen since that night. It was unmistakable, as it had had four wings. Its absence had been maddening for Stoick, for he'd had to endure the loss of his wife and couldn't even avenge her. It had been the same when Hiccup had first vanished, until Stoick had heard about the black dragon the King rode upon. He had long suspected it was a Night Fury, perhaps _the_ Night Fury, given their rarity, and now he'd been told what he considered the final proof. Anger burned in his chest when he thought about it. That Dragon seemed to symbolize everything he hated about dragons and had lost to them, and he promised himself he would kill it. To do that, however, he would have to get close to the beast, and Stoick already had an idea of how he might do that. But first he'd have to learn more about the creature's master.

"I don't know why he'd do that, but we're going to find out soon enough. I'm calling another meeting tomorrow morning."

That evening Snotlout, covered in bruises thanks to Ruffnut and Tuffnut, made his way out of the village eastwards. He'd told his father he was going out to exercise, and he was glad to get away, for Spitelout was in a horrible mood about the robbery and ready to snap at the slightest provocation.

The clouds covered the moon, so it was promising to be a grim and gloomy night. The trees were nothing more than black figures against a dark mauve colored sky, and their trunks were indistinguishable from the ground. A deer could have walked within 20 feet of him and Snotlout would never have seen it. Such darkness suited Snotlout, as he did not want to be seen at the moment. His destination was not popular with most villagers, and he knew it might look bad if he was seen going to it. Besides, he rather liked the idea of sneaking somewhere in a secretive fashion and felt it would spoil the fun if people knew about it.

Sometimes on nights like this he imagined he was a spy or an assassin, stealthily moving like a shadow, unseen and unheard, until it was too late for his prey. The barbarity of such thoughts thrilled and excited him. Though he actually was not that stealthy, being rather large and noisy, he flattered himself that he'd be perfect for such a job. He knew that people like Stoick and Astrid would be disgusted with the idea, as they would see such a job as dishonorable and unfaithful to the way of a True Viking, but he didn't worry too much about that. Sometimes he thought the Viking way was too tame: it seemed to focus too much on honor and codes of civilized warfare. For Snotlout, results were what mattered, not the means.

He climbed a hill and saw an old ramshackle house before him that seemed practically deserted. Before it was a large field of full of cabbages and before the field was a thick wooden fence which surrounded the entire area.

"It looks more like a stockade than a house," Snotlout commented to himself. He didn't know what the word 'stockade' meant. Fishlegs had used it before when describing something about 'forts.' He hadn't paid much attention. He found it to tiresome to focus on what Fishlegs talked about. Much of what he said went in one ear and out the other.

He softy knocked three times on the door. It was opened by a tall thin elderly man with a gnarly, sneering face. Everything about him seemed odious, twisted, and unpleasant, from his rotted teeth to his cut up and dirty fingernails. His name was Mildew, and the only real reasons he was allowed to remain on Berk were because of his cabbages and his skill as a dragon killer. He was also renowned for his ability to always find something to complain about. Because of this and his unpleasant personality he was forced to live a good distance away from the rest of the village. His only true friend was his pet sheep Fungus, though he had been a companion and mentor for some of the younger folks, namely Dogsbreath and Hognose, who Snotlout could see were seated inside next to a pathetic and dying fire. They bowed as he came in and whispered "My Chief" as he sat down. Mildew closed the door and took a seat so that he was facing the three boys. The dying fire was the only light in the filthy room, but there was just enough light to see everyone's face.

Snotlout was going to begin this little meeting, as it seemed proper to him that he should be the one to do so, but Mildew beat him to the punch.

"So, we're all 'ere, so it's down to business…"

Snotlout looked at him miffed, but Mildew ignored it.

"We've got Snotlout 'ere in the good books of Stoick…"

"Yes, we've given me a good start, but I'm not chief yet." Snotlout said impatiently, "what can we do next?"

"We make life miserable for Astrid when it's 'er turn," grinned Dogsbreath,

"Do exactly to 'er what we didn't do to you," added Hognose, "we run this place to the ground so much they'll be beggin' you fix things!"

Snotlout smiled and bowed his head pompously. Then, as if on cue, they all turned to look at Mildew for advice.

"It's a good start," he grinned, "but yer right, lad, ye ain't chief yet. And while ah do like the ider of makin' miss 'Offerson miserable, we need somethin' more than that. And ah will be needin' a bit more in silver for ma services, if ya don't mind,"

"Me too,"

"And me, Snotlout,"

"I already gave you guys a bunch of money. Wasn't that enough?" Snotlout demanded.

"It's never enough, boy," growled Mildew, "there's no sich thing as enough money,"

"And if ya don't give us our share, we could always tell Stoick about ya…"

"And what ya did to yer father's money chest when they was gone…"

"Let's not talk about that right now. You'll all be paid in full when I'm chief, don't worry," he promised. He'd work out how to keep the promise later. "But first I need to get the title. How am I going to do it?"

"We could get Astrid to join yer side" suggested Dogsbreath, "or get 'er to back off,"

"Why not just marry the girl?" demanded Hognose impatiently, "that's what ya want, ain't it?"

"I've been trying to do those things for years. Nothing's worked!"

" _We_ could try somethin'. Supposin' we attacked 'er or somethin,' and then you came to save 'er. She'd be beggin' ya to kiss 'er after that, ah guarantee it."

"Worth a shot," Mildew mused, "and if it don't work, ya scare 'er 'til she backs down."

"Do you think that will work?" Snotlout asked anxiously,

"Women are wimps, boy. They talk tough and act tough, gettin' above their station and all that, it's disgustin', but they're 'elpless if ya play the right cards. Pity other folks 'ere don't seem to know that. The _ider_ of a woman bein' chief, that jest makes me blood boil. It ain't right; Odin says so 'imself."

"And are you guys willing to attack Astrid?" Snotlout asked,

"Jess tell us where an when,"

"Well, let me think a minute,"

"How 'bout tomorrow evenin'?" Mildew suggested,

"Well I suppose…She always is training in the woods after dinner…and if I could impress her enough she might finally come around…"

"Perfect," grinned Hognose,

"Nothing too extreme, of course," Snotlout added quickly,

"Of course," Dogsbreath assured him. If Snotlout could read minds, he would have found that Dogsbreath was imaging Astrid helpless in his grip as he pulled her clothes off.

"An' if nothin' else, it'll make ya look good to others," Mildew cut in, "but ah think we need an ace in the 'ole of some kind. Like that Dragon man."

"What about him?"

"Well, supposin' you killed 'im? Kill 'im, and then yer a hero fer life,"

"Well—"

"And if ya can take control of 'is dragons, ye could conquer the entire archilpegli—archilpelli—ye could conquer this tribe and ev'ry tribe out there. Ye could conquer the world!"

"I thought you didn't like dragons!" Snotlout said in surprise.

"Ah don't. But, I'm willin' ta let ya enslave 'em. Take 'em, make their lives rough, make 'em work, fight, enforce yer will, and punish those 'oo resist yer will." In fact, Mildew said this only to fuel Snotlout's desires. He had no desire to live with dragons even as slaves.

"But—about Astrid—suppose she rats on us?"

"She won't—if she ain't grateful to ya, she'll be too scared and ashamed to mention it to anyone,"

"An' if she does, we'll be the ones 'oo get in trouble, not you, me chief,"

"And there ain't a thing they can do to us that we can't handle,"

"So," Mildew said, "are we agreed, Snotlout? Fer a _very_ small fee, the boys 'ere will get Astrid in a spot so ya can save 'er, and then when ya get the chance, ya kill the Demon Sorcerer and take control of 'is beasts. Then the four of us will lead the way to enslavin' all dragons and takin' the werld. What d'ya say to that?"

"Well just a minute, I've got to think about it first."

"Then think 'bout this: it's either 'er in charge, or ye. Stick with us and it'll be ye. If ya don't, there's nobody 'ere on this island 'oo'll 'elp ya become Chief Snotlout. Ah can see ya like bein' called that. Do as we—adwise—and that title is all yers."

"And so is Astrid," Dogsbreath hinted,

"Coz even if ya don't get 'er tomorrow night, once yer chief, she'll 'ave to obey yer orders,"

"'Specially if ya got a bunch of dragons to back 'em up."

Snotlout looked about the room. 'It's the results that matter,' he told himself, 'not the means.' His dad had sometimes told him that. He took a deep breath.

"How much will I owe you guys?"

The next morning all of Berk was gathered in Mead Hall.

"Well, you all know what's going on," Stoick announced, "now here's what I think we should do about it. As I said yesterday, we don't know what we are up against anymore, and we don't know if anything this man says is true, so here's what we're gonna do about it. I have here there location of where this nest is, as well as the location of the nest we've been searching for all these years. As for the second nest, I will take a large party there, and we shall see if it has been abandoned or not. As for the first, I will send ambassadors there on a mission of diplomacy."

He paused to let the murmurs subside. "Given how this task means going to an island which we know nothing about, I will only take volunteers. Before anyone offers, I want it clearly understood that it could very well be dangerous and possibly fatal. I am not saying that to scare anyone, but to make you all think clearly. Whoever goes will be on an island probably full of dragons and cut off from any assistance. If anything goes wrong they will be on their own. I repeat, whoever goes will be _on their own_." He paused again to let his words sink in. "So, are there any volunteers now?"

All heads looked around questioningly. Snotlout glanced at his father, whose face remained blank. He considered the idea. Volunteering would certainly look brave in Stoick's eyes, but at the same time, the idea of going to this unknown island alone did not appeal to Snotlout one bit. Snotlout also didn't like the idea of playing a diplomat, for he saw it as stupid and pointless: he'd rather fight it out than try to talk. But yet again, if he volunteered and returned successful, it might be what made him chief. At this thought he very slowly and hesitantly began to raise his hand, but it had not even passed his shoulders when Astrid stood up.

"Chief, I volunteer," she said.

"Chief, a word please?"

Stoic wasn't very happy about being called away from getting the ships fitted out, so he gave only the shortest grunt to Olaf and the two went a little ways down the dock.

"Make this fast, Olaf, we've got a lot to do."

"Well, I thought, since Astrid has volunteered for this possibly fatal mission, I would like to ask what will happen if she comes back?"

Stoick eyed Olaf and understood.

"You want me to name her my successor if she returns."

"Yes,"

"Even though I already said—"

"Chief, I know what you said, but that was before this came up. My daughter has just volunteered to do another dangerous job for you and her tribe. She's about to do something nobody else was willing to do and I'd say becoming your heir would be the only just reward for all of her help and bravery."

Stoick turned away from him to consider.

"Chief, she's the obvious choice to succeed you. I mean, do you really think Snotlout would make that great a chief?"

"He did pretty well when I was gone…"

"So he maintained the status quo for a few uneventful weeks. That hardly qualifies him to lead Berk."

"And volunteering to go to a dragon infested island does?" Stoick retorted. He held up a hand when Olaf began to respond. "Olaf, this has gone on long enough,"

"Yes it has, and it would all stop if you would just name Astrid as your successor! I ask again, Stoick, who else on Berk is young and competent enough?"

Stoick again held up a hand for silence and Olaf decided it would be sensible to heed it.

"This is not the time to discuss this. That will come when both expeditions have returned."

Olaf nodded reluctantly.

"That being said, I think Astrid has made either a brave or foolish decision, and I will not name a person chief just for that reason. But…well, it will depend on what news she brings us if she returns,"

"And suppose she does return and proves to be skilled at diplomacy?" Olaf pressed. At that moment a sailor came over to ask Stoick a question of storage space on one vessel, and Stoick walked away to look into it. Before he did, however, he put a hand on Olaf's shoulder reassuringly, and Olaf couldn't help but feel in that reassurance that the Chief would choose Astrid. Provided she did well on this mission.

Astrid herself was busy doing what she usually did when she had time to spare: axe throwing. It was a way to release her stress and a way to ensure her throwing abilities remained in top shape. There was a grove of trees in one section of the forest, and each one had a countless amount of cuts on its trunk, all because of her practicing over the years. On two separate occasions she had even managed to get a tree to fall down after years of its trunk being cut away bit by bit, a fact she was rather proud of.

Often times when she was axe throwing she imagined the target was someone or something she didn't like, typically Snotlout's nose or the Flightmare. The ghostlike Flightmare dragon was one of the most feared dragons on Berk, after the Night Fury. It only came to Berk once every ten years, coinciding with Aurvindil's Fire, and due to its terrifying roar and appearance, nobody dared venture outside. When Astrid was about 5 her favorite and only uncle, Fearless Finn Hofferson, one of the bravest and toughest men on Berk in generations, had decided to fight the creature. As he attacked he froze up, allowing the dragon an easy chance to kill him. Most believed that he had been paralyzed with fear, and ever since that day the Hofferson's had had a stain on their reputation. Those who did not like the family had used this to mock them, a fact Astrid deeply resented. She never believed her Uncle had frozen with fear, but had no way to disprove it. Consequently she had often dreamed of finishing off that menace, but for the moment all she could do was prepare and pretend the tree she was destroying was the Flightmare. She had missed its last appearance some 8 years ago because she had been involved in the fruitless searches of the Chief's son.

With a scream she raised her axe, aimed for a particular piece of bark on a tree some distance away, and flung the weapon at it with terrific velocity and complete accuracy. Without pausing she wrenched it from the trunk, spun around, and aimed for another spot. She typically repeated this exercise until her axe grew too dull, which could take a couple of hours. She had the time, as she'd already packed most of her gear, the ships would not leave for a few days, and Stoick had exempted her from any village duties.

The shadows were growing longer every minute as sunset approached. The clouds were turning a mixture of orange and red, and here and there golden sunlight poked through the branches of the trees, a sharp contrast to the spots where it couldn't reach, which were a deep and cold blue. Astrid, however, paid no attention to the beauty of her surroundings. Her workout was her sole focus until she heard suddenly the snap of a twig, and threw her axe in the direction of the noise, missing Dogsbreath's head by mere inches and making him scream.

"What was that for?" he shouted once he had calmed down. "Ya coulda killed me, woman!"

"Do you think I would have missed if I'd meant to kill you?" Astrid replied coldly, "and what's the idea of sneaking up on me? What do you want?" She held her axe in such a threatening manner that Dogsbreath put his hands up.

"Hey, take it easy!"

"Tell me what you want or go away." Astrid snapped. Between training and talking to Dogsbreath, she'd choose the former under any circumstances.

"'Ooever said I wanted anythin'?"

"Why else would you be here?"

"Well, it jess so 'appens that I _do_ want somethin'. I come on behaff of ma good friend Snotty."

"Well?"

"Well, ya see, missy, my friend Snotty is gonna be the next chief. Me and ma friends will be seein' to that, so I'm come to tell ya to back off."

Astrid smiled slightly. "You can tell Snotlout to forget it."

"Yer only makin' this worse for yerself, missy. Me and ma friends 'ave been playin' nice so far, but that's over now."

"Oh, _really_?"

"Yes, rilly. Soon yer gonna be frozen with fear like yer Fearful Finn was!"

That hit a nerve with her and Dogsbreath knew it. Her next words were said with a growl that would have made a more sensible man step back.

"And just what are you and your friends going to do if I don't 'back off'?"

Dogsbreath, not being a more sensible man, stepped forward.

"Somethin' I've been wantin' to do fer years now." He gave a smile that was so lecherous that Astrid instantly understood what he meant.

"Just _try_ and touch me," she growled, "I dare you."

"Gladly!"

Snotlout was slowly walking up towards the spot where Astrid was training. "Dogsbreath should be there by now," he said to himself, "and soon I'll be hearing her crying for help, and then I'll be there, just in the nick of time to 'save' her and sweep her off her feet with my awesome raw Vikingness. What can possibly go wrong? Let's see, how should I announce my presence when I arrive?" He began trying all kinds of phrases that sounded heroic to him. "Fear not, my fair Astrid, I have come to save thee…nah, how about…Dogsbreath, depart from demonizing the dear and docile damsel directly or dare my distinctly dangerous and destructive demeanor…nah, that's too much like something Fishy would say. Come to think of it, what's demeanor mean, anyway? Oh never mind, how about a war cry like…what's that?"

Those last two words were not the war cry he had in mind, but were a reaction to a squealing sound that did not sound at all like Astrid.

"Still, the fair damsel needs her manly Snotlout to come to her aid! I come, lovely Astrid!" Snotlout declared as he raised his hammer in a triumphant pose and dashed uphill.

"I have come, lovely As—trid?" he looked around but didn't see her. Instead he saw Dogsbreath laying in a pile of leaves and groaning loudly.

"Dogsbreath! Er—what happened to Astrid?"

"That woman's a monster! A maniac!" Snotlout got a better look at his friend and saw he had several bruises and a black eye forming, as well a bloody nose.

"What happened?"

"I'll tell ya what 'appened, she tried ta murder me!" he cried hysterically, "I jess tried ta slap 'er or somethin' jess to scare 'er a bit, an' she nearly kills me!"

Snotlout looked appalled. "You mean instead of attacking her so I could come to her rescue, she attacked _you_?"

"That's what I jess said, didn't I? She nearly killed me!"

"But I thought—I—" Snotlout just didn't know how to respond to his plan failing so abruptly.

"I don't care what ya thought, she nearly killed me!"

"But she was supposed to—"

" _She nearly killed me_!"

"Dogsbreath—"

" _She nearly killed me_! _She nearly_ —"

"OH SHUT UP!" Snotlout shouted in exasperation, "She _didn't_ kill you, so suck it up! Honestly, you're whining more than Useless did!"

Dogsbreath leapt to his feet. "Don't ya _dare_ compare me to that fishbone, Snotty! I gave 'im many a big bruise and I can do the same to ya!"

"And when I'm chief what's to stop me from sentencing _you_ to the Blood Eagle?" Snotlout replied loudly.

"If ya become chief at all! That girl ain't gonna back out, she told me so!"

"And are you backing out now too?" Snotlout demanded "after all that I've promised you?"

"It may be the smart thing ta do,"

"Not anymore, ya idiot!" They both turned to see Mildew approaching them, "you've made an enemy of Hofferson now. If she becomes the chief _she'll_ blood eagle ya fer what ya jest tried to do. Yer only 'ope now is that Snotlout becomes chief."

Dogsbreath paled. "Ya don't mean that? That she'll blood eagle me, I mean,"

"She's a woman and she's bad tempered. Who knows what's goin' on in that pretty 'ead of 'ers?" Mildew replied grimly.

"An' all because I tried to pull 'er shirt off?"

Snotlout looked at him in surprise, "you tried to do what?"

"Nevermind," Mildew cut in, "all we can do now is get this boy to Gothi and 'ope Astrid never becomes Chief."

"But even if she does, I mean, she doesn't know that _I_ was involved in this, does she?" Snotlout asked nervously, "Dogsbreath, you didn't say anything about me, did you?"

"I might've," Dogsbreath grinned suddenly, and then grimaced because his face hurt. "What's it worth to ya?"

Snotlout sighed, "Two pieces of silver?"

"Five,"

"Fine, I'll pay later, now: does Astrid know I was involved in this?"

"Nah,"

Snotlout breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, than all isn't lost. You never know. Maybe that Dragon King will kill her or something. I'd rather have her as my wife, of course, but I'll take any chance I can get if it makes me chief. And while she's gone we'll have plenty of time to impress Stoick and come up with new ideas."

"Ah still think ya should kill that man yerself," Mildew said.

"What if he kills Astrid and I avenge her?" Snotlout said as he and Mildew walked off, with Dogsbreath hobbling after them. "I could say something like, 'Die, demonic and demented dragon dung, like delicate damsel Astrid did…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Sea, Air, and Land**

Stoick had decided it might appear less threatening if Astrid arrived at this dragon nest in a boat, instead of being dropped off by a small fleet, so about an hour before the fleet would have reached the island a boat was lowered into the water and Astrid got into it. As she got the oars ready Stoick leaned over the side of the ship and handed several scrolls.

"Letters of introduction and diplomacy," he explained, "I just hope this person can read…"

"Don't worry, Chief. If he can't I'll read them out loud to him." Astrid promised as she put the scrolls in a waterproof sack.

"Smart thinking, lass," Stoick nodded approvingly. He stared at her for a moment, and then sighed. "In truth, lass, I'm not entirely sure this is a good idea. We've no clue of what you'll find, and you're gonna be on your own entirely. I might well be sending ya to your death. If you've got any second thoughts, speak up now. There's nobody here that would blame you for turning back."

"Maybe," Astrid said, though she doubted Spitelout and his supporters would be so forgiving, "but I know _I'd_ blame myself if I didn't do what I offered to, Chief. I know there's a risk, but I said I'd go, and a good Viking should always keep their word."

"I wish more Vikings thought that way," Stoick sighed, "well, if you're determined, and I'm glad to see that you are, may the Gods keep you safe."

The boat was set adrift and Astrid began to row. Before she got very far she glanced up at her father, who was trying to hide his anxiety.

"Be careful, Astrid!" he suddenly shouted, "keep your wits about you and you'll be just fine!"

"I will, dad!" Astrid called back.

"You just told the chief a good Viking always keeps their word. I already know you're a good Viking, so give me your word you'll be safe and come back," Astrid thought his voice was trembling a little, but she was getting too far was to be certain. She gave a vigorous nod and watched the fleet grow smaller until it vanished completely from sight. They were off to search for Helheim's Gate to confirm what the Dragon King had told them.

It was a beautiful afternoon. The sky was streaked with wisps of pure white clouds that looked like the wings of swans. The sea was also blue, but a beautiful deep shade of sapphire instead of the robin's egg blue that the sky matched. The waves gently lapped against her boat, causing it to wobble a little and send a little spray into her eyes. Astrid was not exactly an experienced sailor, but she'd been to sea enough times that she could handle a boat in average conditions and she never felt ill anymore. All around her was nothing but the ocean. The sound of the waves was the only thing to break the silence. No birds flew overhead, nor, thankfully, did any dragons.

After perhaps nearly two hours of rowing she glanced at her map in annoyance.

"I just don't get it! By the reckoning of the navigator, the island should be just over there, but I don't see a thing! There's nothing but water in every direction!" She was so engaged in looking at the map and trying to figure out what was going on that she didn't see the dragon come swooping in behind her until it seized her arms and lifted her right into the air!

Astrid screamed and tried to reach for her axe, but it had been left behind. Before she could strike the legs of the dragon it began spinning as it climbed higher and higher. Astrid saw nothing except blue and white colors zipping rapidly past her as her head began to ache and her stomach began to feel nauseous. And then, just as suddenly as it had begun spinning, the dragon began to fly straight. By this point Astrid had become so disoriented that she had no idea of what direction they were going or where they were. She couldn't even tell if the clouds before her were swaying because of how the dragon was flying or because she was so dizzy. The fact that she was flying high enough to touch the clouds didn't even register with her; she was thinking more about if she was going to throw up.

How long they were up there she had no idea, but at length her nausea began to fade and her eyes slid back into focus and she could see a chain of light brown cliffs before her. They were very high and almost completely sheer, like a wall. The dragon, which Astrid had finally realized was a Deadly Nadder, headed straight for these cliffs and entered a cave about halfway up them. Once inside it gently set Astrid down and landed.

Astrid quickly took her bearings. The cave she was in was dark and gray, and appeared to be a long, for she could not make out the end of it. The dragon made a sudden prodding movement with its head, as if it was telling her to move forward. Astrid stayed where she was and stared down the long tunnel, feeling almost naked without her axe. She remembered the knife she had in her belt, but when she looked for it she saw it was gone too. The dragon jerked its head again and Astrid slowly began to make her way down the cavern. The only sound they made as they walked was the echoes from their steps. After going a short distance the passage turned left and the cave's entrance was lost from sight. As they turned Astrid could see a faint light ahead of them, she began to make her way towards. With the loss of the light from the cave entrance, the passage was almost completely black. Thankfully, the floor seemed smooth and the ceiling was high, so Astrid found she didn't need to worry about running into anything.

At last the passage opened up to reveal a large room. It was lit by a number of torches that lined the gray walls, and Astrid felt a chill when she realized that the torch bases were made of bone. At the far end of the room stood a large and imposing throne that seemed to have been pulled from the walls that flanked it. Before the throne, which was vacant, were perhaps half a dozen dragons gathered in a circle with their heads bowed down. Apparently they were looking at something on the floor and discussing it, for they were making a lot of quiet sounds and nodding or shaking their heads in reaction to these. Astrid recognized the Timberjack and the Skill on the left, but the other dragons were completely new to her. The black one that sat closest to the throne seemed to be the leader, as the others would look at it as if deferring to its. It was also the first dragon to notice her, and it growled, showing rows of sharp white teeth. The other dragons looked up and now saw her too, and they got in front of the black one defensively. Then their leader, if that was what he was, made a sound with its mouth and one of the dragons, a sleek and thin pink one, left the room. Minutes later it returned accompanied by the masked man Astrid had seen at the Owl Gut Island meeting.

The Dragon King looked about the room almost casually and then approached. Astrid began to speak but he ignored her, instead walking over to the Deadly Nadder standing behind her and began to scratch it. He made some strange growling sounds and Astrid realized he was talking to the dragon, who, to judge by its behavior, was very happy to be scratched. The King then gestured with his hand and the dragon flew off down the tunnel.

"So," the King said as he turned to Astrid, "I hope the journey wasn't too uncomfortable? Stormfly said she didn't make you too ill, which I'm glad to hear. It would not have been a good way to start things."

"Stormfly?" Astrid said after considering how to respond.

"The Nadder that brought you here. She'll be back soon: she's gone off to fetch what you left behind in your boat."

"Speaking of which—" Astrid said accusingly even though she knew it was bad for diplomacy, "you gave us the wrong location! This isn't the place you told us your nest was, because that's where I was when your dragon snatched me!"

He shrugged in response. "Did you expect me to give the true location of the Sanctuary to people like Dagur or Mogadon? As soon as that meeting was over I began wondering if I had said too much. Our safety lies in keeping this place secret. Why do you think Stormfly made you so dizzy you couldn't tell which direction you were going?" He made his way to the throne and sat on it lazily. The black dragon placed itself beside him, and the other dragons stood silently in a row in between him and the shield maiden. "I'm sorry, but I can't ask you to sit down because we don't have any completed chairs yet. I was just finishing it when Persephone told me you were here. It doesn't matter, though, as we won't be here for very long."

"You don't have any _chairs_?" Astrid repeated contemptuously.

"You and I are the only humans who have ever been in this room. We've never needed another chair until now."

Astrid folded her arms. "And what do you mean by 'we won't be here for very long'?"

"I mean that we are not discussing anything yet. Stormfly went to get your belongings, and once she returns Midnight here will show you to your room. We'll save the diplomatic talk for another time."

"'Another time'? Just how long am I to be kept here?" On Berk that was perhaps the foremost question to make everyone uneasy.

"One week. I've already sent Sharptongue to your Chief with a letter. And while you are here, you are my guest and will be treated as such. I only have a few conditions, mostly for your own safety. In the first place, after tomorrow you will be allowed the freedom to go anywhere you like, except for my own quarters, which I'll be sure to keep locked. In the second, I do not want you going near any nests, especially the ones with eggs or babies. All of the dragons here have been warned of your coming, so they'll not be surprised to see you, but most of them are not too fond of humans and, regardless of their personal feelings on that matter, a mother's protective instinct is a very powerful and dangerous thing. I don't want you accidentally hurting anyone and I don't want you to risk getting hurt yourself by an angry mother defending her clutch. You are _not_ to go near nests unless I am with you, understood?"

He had stated these conditions very seriously. Astrid nodded.

"Excellent. Well, just follow those rules and I'm sure we'll have a very enjoyable week. And here's Stormfly."

The Nadder came in, dropped Astrid's axe and knife at her feet (she suddenly remembered she had been using the knife to cut up some bread while studying her map), and placed the sack of letters in front of the King. He scratched her neck and then she left.

"She's going to be a mother soon," he said wistfully, "I normally don't have mothers go about patrolling, but she insisted she could do it. Now, Midnight will show you to your quarters, and I will take a look at these letters."

"Can you read them?" Astrid asked, hoping she didn't sound too doubtful,

"Yes," he replied dryly, "I think I can read Norse somewhat," the black dragon, who had been completely silent this whole time, snorted. Another dragon now approached Astrid. It was snowy white with thin light gray stripes on its back, a light blue underside, and orange eyes.

"Is—is this—'Midnight'?" Astrid asked uncertainly.

"Yes. She's a Snow Demon. The only one in the Sanctuary in fact. You don't see them around here normally: their camouflage doesn't work in the summer months, and they don't like to settle too far from where they were born, but they're very common in the arctic. I've seen nests containing hundreds of them." He now picked up a letter and opened it. Midnight gestured to Astrid that they should leave, but Astrid had one more thing she wanted to ask.

"What are those torches made out of?"

"Hmm? Oh, those. That's whale bone. Why?"

"Oh, just curious," Astrid replied lightly. As Midnight led her out of the room she felt secretly relieved.

"We don't eat humans here, if that's what you're implying," he called after her. He continued to read until she was out of earshot. Then he set the letter down and breathed a sigh of relief.

" **Of all the people to send, it had to be her** ," he mumbled in dragonese.

" **That's the she-Viking you wanted to mate with, right**?" the Night Fury asked,

" **I wouldn't put it** _ **quite**_ **that way, bud** ,"

" **But you had an attachment to her**?" a large gray Skrill asked sharply. When the man nodded the Skrill demanded " **That attachment won't blind you, will it**?"

" **I promise you, Grimm, my first duty is to the Sanctuary," he replied firmly, "now, have we got any new leads on Drago**?" He looked down at floor, which had a large map of the known world carved into it. The dragons had been consulting it and discussing Drago Bludvist when Astrid had arrived.

A light green Treejumper dragon spoke up, "A message came from one of our scouts in Russia. He's been a wanted man there and in neighboring countries for over 10 years."

The masked man nodded, " **I doubt he'll go there, but we have to be certain. We last saw him in France. He can't go west because there's nothing there; he can't go north because that would lead him right back here…so he's either gone south or east**."

" **We know** ," the Skrill Grimm said, " **that he would not have gone to Spain or Italy, due to his—'blasphemous ways, as they'd call it. He'd never be welcomed by them**."

The man stiffened slightly but the Night Fury whacked him on the head with its tail. " **Thanks, Toothless, I'm fine now…so, by now he must be in either France or the Germanic states. Have we got any scouts there**?"

" **I'll send some out tonight** ," Toothless promised,

" **Good**."

" **And what do we do if they find him**?"

" **Can I rip him up**?"

" **And then can I throw the pieces into the ocean**?" The Timberjack asked eagerly.

" **No, Grimm, Evictus, we agreed no more killing humans save in self defense**." The man now returned to the three letters from Stoick. The first was a letter introducing the Chief of Berk and Astrid using the most words and diplomatic flattery possible. He read it to the dragons, who sniggered at it, then tossed it aside and looked at the second. This one was a list of instructions for Astrid, which mostly boiled down to 'don't get the King angry,' so he tossed that one aside as well and picked up the final letter.

"' **To the Dragon King** ,'" he read out loud, "' **I have sent my ambassador Astrid, in whom I have the highest confidence and hope will be treated with all due respect, to visit you to receive further clarification of the terms you present to us. It has always been my greatest desire to bring the hostilities between Berk and dragons to a conclusion, and I sincerely hope that we will be able to do so shortly. Before I can concede to your terms, however, I would like to have these four points defined as clearly as possible:**

 **You stated that you had claims upon certain islands. I would respectfully ask for the exact information as to their location and the extent of that which you claim, as well as more information on the extent of your resources.**

 **I would like further details on what you mean by nobody is allowed to kill any more dragons.**

 **I would like further details on your ideas for integrating the dragons with Vikings.**

 **I would like very much to know more about you. Where are you from, when did you start taming dragons, how do you tame dragons, what are your plans for your life, and why did you choose the life you now lead?**

" **As I do not know the extent of your education, I believe it would be best for you to dictate responses to these questions to my ambassador Astrid, in whom I have the highest confidence and hope will be treated with all due respect. I again say that I hope we will be able to have peace between Vikings and dragons, and I hope you will always think of me as**

 **The Honorable Stoick the Vast**

 **Chief of Berk and of the Hairy Hooligans** '"

" **Well** ," Evictus said when he had finished, " _ **that**_ **was a lot longer than it needed to be** ,"

" **I never knew he could write like that** ," the man said softly,

" **Does anybody else feel suspicious about it**?" asked Grimm,

" **I picked up on that too** ," Toothless nodded, " **he's asking where we are and who** _ **you**_ **are**."

" **Not to mention** ," added the Skrill, " **he wants to know our resources, from which he could deduce how many dragons we have here**."

" **Could he do that**?" asked the Treejumper,

" **Probably not, Shamrock, but Fishlegs could**." The man replied, " **he's always been obsessed with dragon statistics**."

" **If you ask me** ," remarked Persephone, " **you are being too suspicious about this. You are reading too much into this document**."

" **Can you blame us**?" asked Toothless, " **we already know the chief of Berk thinks I killed his son** ,"

" **And has sworn eternal hatred to dragons ever since his wife was taken by one** ," added Grimm.

" **He could very well be asking these questions to find out where we are so he can have his revenge**."

" **Then we'll just have to deny him those particular answers** ," said the Dragon King, getting to his feet, " **now, I've got a chair to finish** ,"

" **And just what are we going to do about the she-Viking**?" asked Toothless,

" **Bud, you and I are going to personally give her a grand tour of the Sanctuary. Aside from our location, we have nothing to hide, and we are going to show her the truth about dragons and prove to her our peaceful intentions in such ways that she will have no choice but to accept them**."

" **We're also hiding your identity** ," Toothless reminded him.

" _ **I'll**_ **worry about that, Bud**."

" **You know perfectly well I worry about whatever you worry about**."

" **Well in this case, you don't have to**."

Toothless snorted. " **If you say so. All right, so suppose the She-Viking accepts what we show her.** _ **Then**_ **what happens**?"

" **She'll go back to Berk and tell them everything. They will then tell the rest of the Vikings everything, and they will one by one begin to accept our terms for peace. Then we shall pick out the friendliest tribes and begin the Dragon Integration Plan." He clapped his hands together as he finished. "This is just the beginning, and if it all goes well, within five years there'll be dragons living peacefully with nearly every tribe of Viking and all thoughts of fighting each other will be nonexistent. This is the chance we've been waiting for, and we can't afford to mess it up, so I want everybody on their best behavior this week**!"

" **How long do you think it will be before he tells her the truth**?" Grimm asked Toothless when the dragons were alone, " **before he tells** _ **them**_ **the truth**?"

" **I don't know. And I also don't know how they're going to react to it**."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **The Dragon Sanctuary**

Astrid's room turned out to be a small chamber in the cave. By Viking standards it was rather unusual, yet quite comfortable.

Her bed consisted of a long slab of stone upon which a straw filled mattress and some woven blankets and a pillow had been placed. There were faded purple drapes to cover the doorway and to surround the bed with, giving it the appearance of a makeshift four-poster. On the drapes was the outline of a flower that was difficult to make out without closer inspection, except for the one that served as the door, which had a macabre image of a skull on it. Astrid couldn't help but wonder as to why this one was there and whether there was any symbolism behind it. The skull seemed to be grinning at her, so she intentionally left that particular drape pulled back as much as possible.

In the corner furthest from the bed was a small fountain carved from a block of stone. The water gently trickled down it with a sound that gave the room a soothing and meditative atmosphere. A square of the wall no bigger than a person's head had been removed, which allowed light to fall on one hollowed out rock that had been turned into a flower pot. A few lilies were growing in it, surrounded by blades of grass and clumps of moss. The center of the room had several stone benches placed around a statue of a dragon carved in a fashion Astrid had never seen before. Its body and tail made multiple zigzags, it had whiskers or something akin to them curving out from its nose, and it was covered in symbols that looked like two water droplets fused together into a circle. On the sides of one bench was carved the face of an owl, on another was the image of a bird with a long thin neck and beak, and on the third was the face of a cat with many stripes on it. In the case of these last two Astrid was completely unfamiliar with the species they were depicting.

In fact, as she looked around the room more, she saw carvings all along the walls, most of which she could not recognize. There were carvings of creatures with long noses, huge ears, and two teeth that protruded from their mouth, there were carvings of cats with human heads wearing a partly triangular headdress, there were carvings of winged horses, people on crosses, and a large house with curved roofs and circular doorways. In addition to these were carvings that she did recognize, mainly of dragons and a Valkyrie that bore a certain resemblance to her, she thought.

"I wonder how long this room took to make," she mused as she sat down on one of the benches, "and where did all of these designs come from?" She glanced around, almost hoping that the King would arrive to explain everything to her, but she was alone. With nothing to do, Astrid spent some more time examining the decorations. She then looked up and saw the ceiling, which only had one carving on it. It was of a Night Fury and a boy on its back. Both of them were looking confidently forward, as if to defy anything that might be coming towards them. It was a very good and detailed carving, she thought. There was something familiar about the boy's face, but she couldn't really place it. She then realized that they were looking in the direction of the Valkyrie that resembled her.

"Interesting," was all she said to this realization, "are they challenging the Valkyrie? Or are they looking at her as if expecting her to join them or something else?"

At that moment she was distracted by the Snow Demon returning with a tray of food balanced on its head. Awkwardly Astrid took it from the dragon, who then bowed and left her again. Dinner consisted of a loaf of warm bread, a fillet of salmon, green beans, an apple, and a stone goblet filled with wine. It was quite delicious, she thought as she ate with utensils made of a metal she didn't recognize. The tray and plates her food was on were pieces of slate with fish carved on them.

"How did he make these things? _Did_ he make these things?" She abruptly asked out loud. She looked around again hoping he might show up, but nobody came until Midnight returned to take the tray away.

Astrid spent the rest of her evening exercising, examining the room more, and wondering. Her head was practically spinning with questions when she finally decided to get into bed, and the questions kept her awake for hours before she was able to fall asleep.

Breakfast the next morning followed the same procedure as dinner. The food tray also contained a note on it saying that Midnight would lead her to the main hall when she was ready. She ate quickly, washed her face with water from the fountain, tried to make her clothes and hair look neat, and then followed the dragon to where she had been brought the day before. The Dragon King and the Night Fury were already there. When she arrived the King jumped to his feet enthusiastically.

"Good, you're here! Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you. That was an interesting room. Did you make it yourself?"

"I designed all of it, and I did most of the carvings, but a lot of it was made by dragons, under my supervision. The best work was done by Etcher. He's a Triple Stryke dragon who has turned out to have quite a talent for carving with his stingers."

"Huh. I didn't know dragons could carve," Astrid said.

"There are a lot of things you don't know dragons were capable of, but today you're going to find out. You can leave your axe and knife behind, by the way. You won't have any need of them here. I assumed it went without saying, but I forgot who I'm playing host and guide for."

She hated the idea of being separated from her weapons, but reminded herself this was diplomacy, so she reluctantly placed them in a corner.

"I don't want anyone touching them," she ordered.

"No worries. Now, shall we get started?" he led her to a wall.

Now that she was closer to the man she had a better chance to get a good look at him, and noticed two odd things. In the first place, attached to his armor in one spot were a few blades of some kind of grass, and in the second, his mask, which encompassed his entire head, had some kind of lenses covering the eye holes, so she could not even see his eyes. She asked him about this.

"This grass is called 'Dragon Nip', and they love it. It has a very tranquilizing affect on them. You put it up in front of their nose and any aggression melts away like butter in summertime. Get it too close and they might fall into a stupor. I wear a few on me as a precaution. Since I just wear a few it only takes effect when I'm right next to a dragon; standing close to one doesn't do anything. For instance, Toothless here is right behind us yet isn't affected by it."

"Do you think you'll need them today?"

"No, but I prefer not to take chances. You never know when an aggressive dragon might turn up."

"I thought you could keep them under control. I thought you were their King."

He sighed in annoyance. "I told you on Owl Gut Island: I _don't_ control dragons. They follow me because they want to. Besides, not every dragon that comes here comes here for me. A lot just come here for a safe place to nest for a while, and they're not all at ease around humans. That Skrill you saw last night, Grimm, he dislikes humans so much he'd never even let me ride on his back. He told me so himself that if the day ever came where he'd have to fly me somewhere he'd carry me in his claws. And I'm not their 'King.' That's just a name you Vikings gave me."

"But you're still their leader?"

"Toothless is, being a Beta, but I only lead because they let me."

"And what's a Beta?"

"Well, there's an Alpha of all Dragons, whom all dragons are subject to, and next in line of the hierarchy are the Betas. Essentially the Alpha is the King and the Betas are the nobility, while all the rest are commoners. Just about every nest has a Beta, but there's only one Alpha at a time. And before you ask, I've never seen the Alpha."

Astrid nodded. "All right, I think I understand. So, what's up with the eyeholes on your mask?"

"Oh…these lenses allow me to see better," he said, rather quickly and dismissively, "They're tinted, to make it easier to see concealed dragons. Now, shall we get going?" He quickly moved towards a section of the wall before them.

"But—what about the letters from my chief?" Astrid protested, but he ignored her. He pulled a lever and a large portion of the wall was lowered down like a drawbridge.

"I built this contraption especially for this visit," he said excitedly, "I wanted to start this tour off with something impressive and theatrical."

" **You and the theatrics** ," grumbled Toothless.

"Now, milady, if you would…" he gestured to the door and Astrid stepped through it.

The sight that greeted her was beyond anything she could have expected. She was standing on a trail in the middle of a large forest. Tall trees, thick mosses, groves of ferns, and tall grasses; a hundred shades of greens surround her, from the deep to the vibrant, from the dull to the lustrous. She took a few steps forward and saw she was actually standing near the edge of a long slope. Looking around she realized that they were on the interior wall of a crater. The face, where it was actually visible through the vegetation, was black and in many places craggy, and ran steadily down until it reached a large lagoon that filled the entire crater floor, several hundred feet down. A thin fog was languidly rising out of the crater's interior, draping the walls and trees as though they were ethereal. Here and there beams of sunlight poked through the fog and tree branches, as if to indicate that the places they were shining upon were sacred, and everything glistened with morning dew. The air smelled fresh and damp, as it often does at the beginning of a lovely day.

"We're standing in an extinct volcano." The King explained. "I had Whispering Deaths tunnel all over the place to build nests. The lake extends below sea level, so they enlarged some underwater passages that connect it with the ocean, allowing fish and any tidal class dragons to enter."

The fog suddenly cleared away, revealing a huge flock of dragons moving about through the air. The rapid movement and great variety of color gave Astrid the impression of a great menagerie of birds had just been released. There were hundreds of dragons, some diving, some rising, others darting east, west, north, or south, some landing on the ground or in trees, some taking off, zipping about in every direction conceivable, but constantly in motion yet never running into another dragon. A handful of them were simply lying around, some watching the organized chaos, some completely ignoring it. There were dragons of nearly every species she knew of and plenty more that she didn't know of. There were so many different kinds and they were moving so much that she didn't have time to study any. For short seconds, shafts of sunlight bounced off scales of every color in existence, save for black. There was only one black dragon that Astrid could see, and that was the Night Fury standing behind her. The sudden realization that the world's most feared dragon was right behind her made her at once uneasy and tense, but she began to calm down when she decided that if the dragon was going to attack her it would have done so already.

Meanwhile, the Dragon King had been watching her reactions and now excitedly raised his hand and gestured over the space before them.

"Well, welcome to our home, the Dragon Sanctuary! What do you think?"

"I…don't know what to say..."

"I understand that perfectly. I never get tired of looking at it. There's always something new to see, just like there are always new dragons to discover and befriend. Well, come on! Time's a-wasting and there's a lot to see!" He pulled her down a pathway that led them further down the crater, only stopping to point out things to here.

"See that trench over there on the hillside? Dragons don't need to distinguish between fresh and salt water, but I do, and for that I dug some canals to send rainwater into a storage cistern underground."

Now they progressed down a trail to a large grove of trees, where several dragons were standing. Astrid recognized them from the day before.

"Let me introduce you to some of my friends here! The Skrill is Grimm, and it's spelled with two 'm's, by the way." One 'm' would be just as appropriate, in Astrid's opinion, for if it wasn't looking at her grimly she didn't know how to read expressions. The Skrill made a scoffing sound and turned away from them.

" **Remind me why I agreed to do this**."

" **Grimm**!" Midnight said shortly, " **You know what we agreed on**!"

" **Yeah, yeah…behave diplomatically, no killing, no dismembering, and no scaring her out of her wits, yeah, yeah, I've got it**."

"Anyway, Midnight, you've met, and this is Persephone." He pointed to a pink dragon that bore a distinct resemblance to the dragon statue in Astrid's room: she looked more like a snake with legs. "She's from Japan. Roughly translated her species is a 'Gatherer of Cherries,' and they're one of only two species I know of to not eat meat."

" **How can you even** _ **gaze**_ **at something so disgusting**?" The dragon retorted.

" **Thank you, Persephone**." He said dryly, "word of our efforts here spread eastwards among dragons, so she left Japan to see for herself. She learned the name 'Persephone' when she flew through Greece and decided she liked the name so much that she adopted it. This dragon is a Treejumper, and he's named Shamrock. Like Persephone, he heard about our efforts and came from Ireland to see for himself, and decided to stay. Last but not least, here's our resident Timberjack Evictus, who got his name because he likes to 'evict' people from dragon trapping boats."

"'Evict'?"

"As in get on the boat and throw all the sailors overboard. Then he 'evicts' the dragons trapped on it." The red Timberjack raised its head proudly. "These dragons are the most prominent on the island after Toothless. It's largely thanks to their combined efforts that this place is what it is now."

"I thought _you_ were the leader."

"A leader can only lead if others let him, and even so, a leader alone can't do much. Of course, nothing's exactly official here; it's just how things fell out as each dragon's abilities and talents became apparent."

"Talents?" Astrid repeated scornfully, "like the talent to destroy and kill?"

"Aren't those the kinds of talents Viking warriors value?" he replied cheerfully, "but everything has a use. It might not be easily apparent to the narrow-minded, but everyone on this planet has special abilities and skills. The trick is finding a way to put them to a beneficial use. Besides, if you doubt the abilities dragons have to create, look around you. Remember what I told you about your room? I designed a lot of this place and helped build where I could, but I didn't make everything, you know. Yes, dragons can destroy, but they can also help build. All they needed was somebody to give them an incentive to do so. It's the same with humans."

After this he said goodbye to the Council members and led Astrid further down the path, with Toothless right behind them. Occasionally he'd pause to direct Astrid's attention to something.

"That path over there leads to my forge. A nest of Fireworms live there, and they heat the furnaces whenever I need to use them." Astrid could only nod in reply. She suspected Gobber could have bombarded the King for hours on how the forge worked and how the blacksmithing work was done, but she had no experience in that field. For a moment her thoughts turned to Hiccup and she wondered if he'd have had the same reaction that Gobber would.

"Over here are some of the orchards." He said some time later. "We've got some dragons here like Persephone that can only eat fruit, and I like fruit too, so we've got a few spots around the Sanctuary for fruit trees. The fruit eating dragons take care of them."

"Take care of them as in farming and gardening?"

"Yep,"

Astrid really had to laugh. "Dragons gardening. That'll be the day. Do they have scythes and rakes and ploughs too?"

"Yes: they're called claws and tails."

"Oh. Well, what about fertilizer?"

"Volcanic soil is among the most fertile on earth, which was one reason for why we chose this island. It wasn't easy finding an island, I can tell you that. It had to be large, have locations for nests, good soil, a source of food and fresh water, and situated where humans wouldn't be likely to come to it. Finding this island was a stroke of pure luck. The first year was insane, trying to figure out how to accommodate everyone and survive while putting things together. I sometimes felt like I was like trying to live in a massive house that was still being constructed. A lot of dragons didn't stick around during those early days, but we pulled through in the end, as you can see. But even if this island wasn't volcanic, we'd have managed with growing crops at least. Dragon dung is an excellent fertilizer. I calculated once that if an island like Berk used it for crops, harvest sizes would triple."

That wiped the smile from Astrid's face. "You're serious?"

"It was a conservative estimate too."

"Huh." Impressive but she was still skeptical. "And I suppose you've got an arena and public baths too here."

Toothless abruptly put his paws over his ears. " **Augh! Don't say that word, don't say it**!"

"What's up with him?"

"It just so happens that the Unholy Offspring of Lightning and Death hates baths."

" **Don't say it**!"

" **What? Say 'baths'**?"

" **NOOOO**!"

The King turned to Astrid, who was looking incredibly confused. "He was taking a bath in a pond and an eel somehow got into the water. Consuming eels makes most dragons sick, and the larger eels have been known to kill dragons, so most have great fear of them and hate them. And ever since then, you even mention the word bath—"

" **AUGH**!"

"—and this overgrown lizard starts screaming and whimpering like a little kid." The King shook his head as his dragon dove into a pile of bushes. Persephone and Midnight happened to be nearby and were trying very hard not to laugh.

" **Should we tell him it was the Hatchling who put that eel in there**?" Midnight whispered.

" **Maybe next time** ," grinned Persephone, " **But for now we watch him suffer**!"

Suddenly they heard a loud noise. The dragons were making loud calls that seemed to follow a certain rhythm and began diving down towards the lake.

"What's that?"

"Feeding time!" She sensed he was grinning behind the mask. "They're singing."

"Dragons can _sing_?"

"Sure, why not?"

"And just what are they singing, Mr. Expert?" Astrid retorted skeptically.

"Well…" He listened and then translated.

" _Swoop, swish, swoop, swish_

 _Dive and fill your mouth with fish!_

 _Down, up, left, right_

 _Help yourself but stay polite!_

 _That's what the Hatchling tells us_

 _And the Hatchling is always right!_

 _Right, left, up, down_

 _Fill the belly, drop the frown!_

 _Swish, swoop, swish, swoop_

 _Spot eels? Than warn the group!_

 _Aside from that dine away_

 _And watch Toothless fly loop-de-loop!_ "

"You made that up."

"I did not! The dragons did!"

And down the dragons went to this beat. And up they came with mouths full of fish. The King began pointing out various species to her as they flew by, but most of what he was saying went in one ear and out the other. Toothless had reappeared now and looked inquiringly at his friend.

"If you'll excuse me for a minute, milady, but Toothless is hungry." He climbed onto the dragon's back. "We'll be right back,"

"Why is his tailfin a different color?" Astrid asked, "And what's up with all that metal stuff?"

"He lost a fin, so I built him a new one. This particular one requires my help to operate. Let's go, Bud!" They leapt up into the air forcefully and then did a heart stopping dive straight into the lake. Astrid was impressed by how fast and easy they had made it look. She was enough of a warrior and instructor to recognize a team when she saw one, and she saw one right then.

They came up a few minutes later, the dragon with a mouth full of fish that he was trying to gulp down without gagging.

"Wait a minute—'Toothless?'"

"His teeth are retractable." The King said as he slid off the dragon's back. "I saw him with them retracted early in our friendship and the name just sorta stuck." The dragon raised its head and grinned at Astrid. Sure enough, its mouth was completely toothless.

"And how did he lose his tail fin?"

"A bola net got him, sent him crashing through the woods, and in the process a fin was ripped off," the King mumbled. He sounded ashamed. That and the way he was looking at her left her feeling odd.

"What?"

"Oh…just trying to gauge your reaction,"

" **Don't tell her anything more about that night** ," Toothless warned.

" **Relax Bud, I won't**." He sighed, " **I still regret it though** ,"

"What are you two talking about now?" she demanded. It was getting a bit annoying having them speak to each other and not be able to understand it. Who knew how many secrets they were sharing, knowing she was standing right in front of them?

"He's just telling me he's still hungry." The King said calmly. He turned to the dragon. "You're a bottomless pit, you know that, right?"

" **Very funny** ,"

The King decided to show Astrid how the harness and tailfin worked. It was simply a matter of pushing a pedal with his metal foot, which changed the positions of the tailfin by the means of a cable.

Astrid said "So he can't fly without you?"

"Yes and no. I built him another fin that allows him to fly on his own. But he hates using it and will only do so during emergancies, like in a battle. But with the fin he's wearing now, he can't fly without me."

"And you managed to make a downed dragon fly again?" Astrid shook her head. "I can't think of anyone who could do such a thing. I can't even imagine how it could be done."

"You're a warrior, Astrid, not an inventor. In my case, I knew right at the beginning it was perfectly feasible. All I needed was knowledge of the mecahinics of a Nightfury's tailfin, the right material for the fin, and a means of controlling it." Only the third part posed any real problem, but that was taken care of with some time, patience, and effort—and a lot of crashes and near death experiences."

Astrid suddenly was tired of just asking questions. Everything she asked just seemed to open up scores of new questions. She especially wanted to know more about the King. She suddenly got the sense that she knew him…or perhaps he knew her. Either way, she wanted an explanation for it.

She tried to sound casual. "Do I know you from somewhere? Have we met before?"

"Yes, on Owl Gut Island, and on that island with the Zippleback."

"That wasn't what I meant."

"I know. But it's all I'm saying for the moment on that."

"Why?" Maybe if she got him to say more he'd let something slip.

His tone was serious. "Because I don't want to talk about it."

Well so much for that hope.

Now that the dragons had stopped feeding it had gotten a bit less noisy, though many continued to swoop about at random intervals for their own reasons. To Astrid, they were impressive to look upon, no question, but she could still recall perfectly all those dragon raids she had seen before. Those house fires caused by dragons had looked impressive too, before the walls and roofs collapsed on their trapped occupants. The King might have done something special here, but she clung to her Vikign upbringing, and did not discount what she knew of dragons. However tame they might appear now, the fact remained they were still wild animals, and she was not interested in trusting her life or her island with one of them.


	8. Chapter 8

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Hello everyone! I've decided to change the update rate from 1 week to every 5 days.**

 **I'd also like to thank everyone who has been giving this story such good reviews. Hopefully the coming chapters will please you even further.**

 **So without further ado:**

 **Chapter 8**

 **Hatchlings and Stars**

They had been wandering around for several hours when they stopped to rest in a grove of apple trees, which the King plucked some fruit from and handed to Astrid.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?"

"I'm not hungry," he replied as he stretched out on the grass. Astrid sat down beside him. He adjusted his position so that his head was not within her reach.

"So what do you think of all this so far?"

"It's…well, I can hardly believe somebody could create such a place. But just out of curiosity, what do you plan to _do_ with all of this?"

"Integration. I want humans and dragons here to live side by side, working together in peace and friendship for the common good. But until then, the dragons need a safe haven. I'm hoping one day families will send their children here to learn to befriend dragons and care for them. That's what I'm hoping you'll take away from this: dragons are not what you Vikings think they are. As long as you can understand, peaceful co-existance is perfectly possible."

Astrid smiled as a mother might smile at her child's imaginary friend. "I don't know about that. I highly doubt dragons can be domesticated to live with humans. You live among them, yes, but that means _you_ let yourself become domesticated to a _dragon's_ way of life. I doubt it would work the other way around."

"Why not?" She suspected that if his face was visible an eyebrow would be raised right now. "It's been going on in China for centuries."

"Where?"

"China. You've heard of it, haven't you?"

"Only a name, I think…somewhere far off in the east, right?"

He nodded. "I told you on Owl Gut Island about the fight with the Red Death. Well, after I built myself a new leg—" He gestured at his prosthetic, "Toothless and I decided to set off exploring to the south."

He pulled a packet of parchment from a pouch and was about to spread it out, but abruptly put it away. "We went through Southern Europe, Egypt, down the center of Africa, then westward over the Red Sea, through Arabia and India, and finally to China. You wouldn't believe all the things I've seen on those travels. I filled up so many journals with sketches it almost became too heavy for Toothless to carry. I've seen the strangest sights ever. Nearly everything carved on those walls was inspired by something I saw on these travels. The dragon statue was based on Chinese artwork.

"On my travels I found different opinions of dragons. In Europe they're seen much as Vikings see them: evil demons and children of the Devil. It's very different in the Far East, and especially in China. There, dragons are seen as bringers of good fortune and happiness. In China dragons and humans live side by side, rather like how other places live side by side with dogs or horses. Dragons help with farming, controlling livestock, defense, traveling, and so on and so forth. In fact, when I arrived in China, people weren't surprised by the fact that I was riding a dragon. They didn't even look twice at me for that! What caught their attention was the fact that I didn't look anything like a Chinese man! Anyway, it was in the capital city that I first made my mark there. One of the dragons that belonged to the Emperor Shenzong was in a rampage, and his keepers had no idea of how to calm him down, except by killing him. I stopped them, approached the dragon and spoke with him, and I learned that the poor dragon was in pain due to a horrible toothache."

"Wait…how did you speak to the dragon?" Astrid interrupted. She'd been wondering about the King's ability to communicate with dragons for quite some time and now found an ideal moment to bring it up.

"Oh I can speak to any dragon." He spoke casually, but his words made Astrid gape at him. "I live with them, so I had to learn their language. It's been invaluable, I can tell you that."

Astrid smiled. "Impressive. Can anyone learn it?"

"No idea."

"A safe answer. You oughta be careful, you know, with what you're telling me. While I'm flattered you're taking me into your confidence, it was rather foolish of you to tell me about your Night Fury's tail fin, for instance. If I wanted to, I could destroy that fin and you'd be helpless!"

"Yes, and that's a problem we've always had to watch out for. But you'd have to catch us first!" He felt he had little reason to fear on that score. He doubted Astrid could mess up the tail fin without Toothless realizing it or being spotted by other dragons. She did not know it but they were not going around unobserved. Nor could she tamper with the other fins because she did not know where he kept them. He also did not mention he had plenty of other tricks up his sleave. Still, it would be wise to check over the fin whenever they went flying this week. And while others would now find out about the defect, as he had said, they would still have to catch them, and only one person in existance had ever shot down a Night Fury before.

"All right, then, how about what you told us about Betas controlling other dragons? So if I controlled a Beta, I'd control every dragon the Beta controlled."

"Good luck finding a dragon for that purpose." He sounded amused.

"And there's an Alpha, you said?"

"You'll get scant information from me on that. I only know there's one Alpha in existence and nothing else. I've never seen him or her, nor has anybody else to my knowledge."

"That's strange. You'd think the Alpha would be in control of everything. A Chief that hides is not much of a Chief."

"I have no idea what the explanation is."

"All right, then what about that Dragon Nip or the eels?"

"What about them? Dragon Nip only works at very close range." He also doubted she could identify it when you get back to Berk. He had already hidden the grasses he had showed her that morning. "And what are you going to do, make every Viking wear eels from now on? I'm sure that fashion would bring out the color of your eyes very nicely, but that's an awful lot of eels, and they'd stink." He 'forgot' to mention there were also a few dragons that actually liked eels, "So while I am deeply touched by your concern, do you think we haven't already thought of these problems and figured out ways to counter them? But thank you for reminding me to watch my words from now on."

Astrid mentally kicked herself. She just made the same mistake she had been warning him about!

He had in fact become aware he was saying too much…again. He was glad to have Astrid around and actually listening to him, so much that he let slip things he ought not to. While he knew such information could be dangerous around his enemies, he had hopes that Astrid and most of Berk were soon not going to be considered enemies. Still, He nudged Toothless and said " **Keep an eye on my words, Bud. Let me know if I'm saying too much. Hit me if you need to**."

Toothless sniggered and obliged him. The Dragon King aimed a kick at him. The Night Fury laughed and his friend lightly smacked him on the head. Astrid did not understand what was going on, but she laughed at the sight.

"So where was I? Oh yes, it was in China that I began to envision a peaceful co-existence between humans and dragons out here with the Vikings."

"So you came here."

"Well, I had to leave the court anyway," he chuckled, "my life was in danger by that point. I knew too much. And as you have observed, I sometimes have trouble keeping my mouth shut around people." Especially attractive girls it seems, he added mentally. "I realized it was only a matter of time before I was arrested or murdered, or both, so I said my goodbyes and quit while I was ahead."

"Well, living with dragons is all very well for China, but I still don't believe anybody will be accepting dragons here. Certainly not on Berk after what happened to the Chief's son."

"Stoick's son? You mean that kid…um…let's see, what was his name again?"

"Hiccup." Astrid said softly.

"Yeah, him…the kid you all think Toothless carried off."

" **Technically speaking…** " Toothless said slyly,

Astrid looked uncomfortable. "Look, I don't want to accuse anybody here, but have you considered that your dragon might have taken Hiccup before you met him?"

"He didn't kill Stoick's son." The King said flatly. "I swear it on anything you like. And from what I've heard about him, why does anybody really care if a dragon did take him? I mean…from what I've heard…he wasn't that popular to begin with, and he and the Chief had family…issues."

"Oh, he was a nuisance, I can tell you that. He was always building things that never worked, a rabbit was a better fighter, he never listened or followed the simplest order…and yet he was a nice guy, he never treated me like some prize, he didn't intentionally cause trouble, and he wasn't a self absorbed brat like his cousin. And while we certainly weren't close, I never wanted him to _dead_. When we discovered what had happened to him, I was…" She caught herself. "Well, it doesn't matter anymore. He's gone and nothing can change that."

"How did the Chief take it?"

"How would any parent take it if their only child was killed by a dragon? He broke down whenever he thought nobody was looking during that first year."

"I'm…sorry to hear that, but I thought he and his son weren't very close?"

Astrid snorted. "The bottom of the sea was closer to the sky compared to the distance between them, but that doesn't mean the chief didn't love Hiccup. Hiccup was…a handful, and very hard to talk to. Or he'd never shut up, which amounted to the same thing. I mean, the Chief tried everything he could but the kid was too different for him. Any parent would have had trouble with him."

"I wonder…"

"Wonder what?"

"Oh, just wondering how things might have been different," he said quickly. He stared at the ground deep in thought.

"How'd the rest of the village take his death?" he asked eventually.

"Oh, some cried, some threw parties claiming they were in his honor when they were really to celebrate his absence. Snotlout and Mildew hosted some of them—in secret of course. Stoick was too depressed then to pay much attention to them. He had a drinking problem for a while, but his brother and our Blacksmith pulled him out of it."

"Mildew. Sounds like an unpleasant kind of person."

"Oh he's very unpleasant. I hate the way he looks down on women. He says a woman can never be Chief."

"That's just stupid. Just look at the Bog Burglars for crying out loud! And Cleopatra ruled Egypt for nearly twenty years! That was quite a feat at that time period. Most of her predecessors were luckly to last for five!"

"I know, right? But Mildew is so narrowminded and stubborn. Maybe it's his age. The guy must be older than some of the trees I've thrown axes into!"

"Do the Twins still drop giant snowballs onto his house on Snoggletog?" He was chuckling now.

"Yes!" Astrid laughed, "And last summer they kidnapped his sheep Fungus and painted a bull's-eye on its rear end! Wait—how do you know about them dropping snowballs on Mildew's house?"

"Oh…I have my sources,"

"I know you've got ways to…"keep informed," as you put it, but I wouldn't have thought some madcap prank the Twins play on Berk's most unpopular person would interest to you."

He shrugged. "If someone sees it, they report it. I can't exactly control everything they see."

"You don't have them spy on us when we're—?"

"I promise you they respect people's privacy," Unless there was good reason to be suspicious about it, he thought.

"Are you so knowledgeable about the other tribes too?"

He looked at her fixedly. "We mostly focus on the islands that have the worst reputation for killing dragons." Astrid turned away so he couldn't see her face. She had mixed feelings about this information.

On the one hand she knew she should be proud of it. She'd been raised from birth to believe that dragons were dangerous, a threat to Berk that had to be eliminated, and she had embraced this belief and thrown herself wholeheartedly into fighting dragons. By Viking standards, to have such a high dragon kill count was inspiring and heroic; a sign of a great warrior. Yet at the same time, after what she had seen this day which so greatly contradicted her upbringing, she couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed of such a high kill count, and found difficulty in defending it.

The King could not see her face, but he knew why she had turned away, and he rejoiced at it. He had been hoping that remark would bring out that reaction.

Their thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the cry of a Nadder. The King jumped to his feet.

"That's Stormfly! Her eggs are about to hatch!" He grabbed Astrid and dragged her away. "Now this is something you've gotta see!"

He quickly led her down a winding path to a cave. Several Nadders were blocking the entrance, but quickly stepped aside when they noticed him.

"Good, we're just in time!" He said excitedly, "Come here, Astrid! Take a look!"

The cave was featureless beyond a pile of straw the Nadder named Stormfly was lying on. Besides her and partly buried in the straw were several large eggs that were wobbling.

"Come here!" The King said again. He sounded like a child who had just discovered where the snoggletog gifts were hidden. "Over here, we don't want to get too close." He pulled her to a corner. "Now watch this!"

Astrid watched as the eggs began to wobble more and more. Cracks began to appear in them, which made the dragons watching warble excitedly. Then there was a loud cracking noise and eggs in one accord burst apart. Four baby Nadders flopped onto the straw and began to look around.

She had to admit, they were pretty cute. They're eyes were large and they looked at everything with great fascination. They looked like a miniature version of an adult Nadder, only there were no wings or spines. Two were blue and yellow like their mother, the other two were a mixture of red and green. Very quickly they spotted Stormfly and at once clambered over to her and hid behind her tail, which curled around them protectively. The King then slowly took a step forward with one hand outstretched.

" **May I**?" He asked tentatively. Stormfly simply looked down at her tail. One by one four little heads popped up from behind it, each one looking at the human curiously.

" **It's all right, little guys** ," the King whispered in dragonese, " **it's alright, it's alright…welcome to the world!** "

One of the red hatchlings was a bit bolder than the others and came forward rapidly but with caution. Hesitantly it sniffed the man's opened palm, which was large enough to encompass the creature's neck. Abruptly it abandoned all caution and jumped onto the King. Its siblings followed suit and the King suddenly had four little dragons clinging to him playfully, to the delight of the other dragons present.

Stormfly was looking proud, perhaps glad to see that her monarch was approved of by her children. Astrid meantime was dumbfounded. She keep trying to persuade herself that, cute as the babies were, they were like wolf cubs, beginning life cute and cuddly but soon growing into full fledged monsters, but it would take a heart of stone to not feel a bit of affection for the little ones. Seeing them playing on the King only added to their charm, and she couldn't help but smile.

Just as suddenly as they had jumped onto the King, they got off, except for one. That one remained on the King's shoulder and seemed content to stay there forever, until the King gently picked him up. Then, to Astrid's complete astonishment, he held the baby dragon out to her.

"Do you…want me to touch her?"

"Don't worry, she's very friendly."

"I…"

"Come on, Astrid, the Gods aren't going to destroy you for touching a newborn dragon."

Reluctantly Astrid held out her hand and touched the baby Nadder. She'd never really touched a dragon before. Yes, she'd made physical contact plenty of times when fighting them, but it was not the same as what she was doing now. Now she could actually take the time to run her hand along the smooth scales, feel life pulsing beneath them, sense the already growing strength of the dragon's muscles. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt before that she couldn't resist a smile and a weak laugh. Suddenly a growl sound was made.

"What did I do?" She asked at once.

"Nothing," The King laughed, "this girl's hungry!" He carefully returned the baby to her mother. " **They're beautiful, Stormfly** ," he gently patted her on the head, " **congratulations…he'd be very proud…** " this last was said so softly that Astrid wasn't even aware he'd said anything.

Toothless, who up to this point had been silently standing behind them like a shadow, now darted forward.

" **All right, everyone, that's enough! Let's give Stormfly some privacy, she's gotta feed the kids!** " As the dragons departed the King led Astrid out of the cave with them, the Night Fury right behind.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yes I—I've never touched a baby dragon before."

"It's one of my favorite parts of living with dragons. I make a point of being there for every hatching, if I can." That was a large part of what this island was mostly for: a place for dragons to nest and raise their children away from danger and predators. He looked at his own dragon sadly, " **I sometimes wonder if I'll ever see your children hatch, bud**." Toothless just shrugged.

"So where's the father?" Astrid asked, "Stormfly's mate, I mean? Is he out getting food or was he watching behind us?"

"No." The King hung his head. "Shortly after the eggs were laid he was caught and killed by Outcasts." Astrid couldn't help but feel she'd just crossed a line.

"Oh…" It was all she could say.

"Well," the King said with a heavy sigh, "it happens. Nobody likes it, but all we can do is keep going. But it's a shame those kids will grow up without a father…it's not easy to do, you know? Growing up fatherless…"

"Did you?"

He ignored her and Astrid decided not to pursue the subject.

"So what would happen if both of their parents were dead? Sorry, that came out wrong. What I'm asking is, if something happened to Stormfly, what would happen to her children?"

"It's nice to see you showing concern for them. With most dragons, the loss of both parents at such a young age is a death sentence for all but the strongest. Nadders, however, are very social and have strong maternal instincts. If something happened to Stormfly, another Nadder would step in and take the children as her own. They'll be stepping in to help out anyway, whenever Stormfly's absent. But on this island, if any hatchling ever became an orphan and no other dragon is willing to take it in, which has never happened yet, I would take care of it myself." He paused. "And if you think of using that information against me, keep in mind that I mentioned Nadders had strong maternal instincts. Take their hatchlings and you'll never know a safe moment afterwards."

"And I thought you were insisting dragons are safe creatures."

"Anything is dangerous if mistreated. Dogs are dangerous when angered, yet people still keep them around. Heck, _you_ are dangerous when you're angry, yet you're soon to be the Chief of Berk."

Several hours had passed by. Astrid had spent the late afternoon wandering around her room and thinking about all that she had seen, but after eating some vension she decided to take a closer look around the underground passages, still thinking of the same things she'd been thinking of before without reaching any real conclusions.

She felt her Viking upbringing was being ripped away and torn to shreds. Everything she'd been taught since she was taught anything had more or less been refuted by the Dragon King and her own eyes. Astrid had never entirely thought, as some like Mildew and Spitelout did, that dragons were simply mindless killing machines. She'd seen enough in their raids to recognize that they had some degree of intelligence, but what she'd seen today had been beyond anything she could have imagined. She just couldn't believe she'd seen evidence of dragons building, caring for their young, planting, living in harmony with each other, and tolerating the human who lived with them. Why, they were practically humans themselves, baring obvious physical differences. She'd even touched a baby Nadder! How many Vikings could make that claim? Granted, most wouldn't care, but even so, she had found it amazing. If the King was trying to get her to take his side concerning dragons, she felt his plan was already starting to succeed, and she'd only been here for one day.

But then she thought about what she would do on Berk now. She'd barely given thought to being Chief all day, but now she remembered that she had a good chance of succeeding Stoick. She had to start thinking of where she would stand on issues and this was a major one. Would her shifting views affect her chances of being chief? She remembered what Stoick often said: 'a chief looks after his people.' Or hers, she mentally added. But how could she decide on what was best for her people when she was not entirely certain of what was best for herself? She was still not sold on the idea of dragons and humans could live together peacefully, and there was little reason to believe anyone else on Berk would approve of it, certainly not a majority.

That her views were changing there was no question. The question was what she going to do about it, and for that she had no clear cut answer.

"What would Dad do?" she wondered to herself. "What would Uncle Finn do? That's easy. They'd do the honorable thing. But just what is the 'honorable thing' in this case?

She'd been wandering through the halls for a while now, and she began to hear the echo of a peculiar sound. It sounded like the buzz of a hive of bees mixed with the plucking of deep strings, and she could hear someone singing faintly to it. Rounding a corner she came into the Main Hall and saw the King sitting on the floor strumming what appeared to be a human sized wooden spoon with strings running down the front and an odd kind of vase attached to the smaller end.

"It's a veena," he said when he'd finally noticed her. "A saraswati veena, to be precise. They're popular instruments in India."

Astrid sat down next to him. "You built that yourself?"

"Yeah. I sometimes do this to clear my head. That or go flying on Toothless, but he's sleeping right now." Astrid turned and spotted the Night Fury hanging upside down from an unlit torch. "He says the music helps him fall asleep. Not sure if that's meant to be an insult or a compliment."

" **Insult** ,"

" **Hey! You're supposed to be sleeping**!"

" **You people are too noisy**." Toothless groaned as he closed his eyes even tighter.

Astrid looked confused so he told her what had just been said. She smiled. "Well, here we are. Play something,"

"Well…um…" he glanced at the Night Fury, who nodded, still keeping his eyes closed. "All right." He plucked a string and softly sang:

" _On the other side of the horizon_

 _Is a place where troubles wash away_

 _Like chalk drawings on a rainy day_

 _On the other side of the horizon_

 _No one complains about what you do_

 _There's no fighting and there's no need to_

 _The deepest dreams you have_

 _Have a chance of becoming real_

 _There are lots of loved ones_

 _Who all care about how you feel_

 _Wait for me, I'm coming_

 _Stop the vessel, I want to get on_

 _I'll leave this life behind_

 _And then all my worries will be gone_

 _On the other side of the horizon_

 _I'll find the place I was meant to be_

 _Where everybody cares for me_

 _On the other side of the horizon_

 _Is the happy place I'll find one day_

 _And once I'm there that is where I'll stay_

 _And I'll soar like the swan_

 _And run as freely as the gazelle_

 _I'll show that I matter_

 _And that all others matter as well_

 _And I'll shine like the sun_

 _And I'll glow like the radiant moon_

 _I will get there someday_

 _One day… I just hope it will be soon_ "

He let the music fade away slowly.

"Did you make that up yourself?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, "just something I made up some time ago. About the only thing I actually know how to play. I normally just ad-lib and forget it."

"I liked it."

"Well that's a first—I mean…really?"

"Really,"

He cocked his head to one side. She suddenly felt a strong urge to take off his mask and see his expression.

"Astrid?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to see a planet?"

He took her up to the highest point on the entire island, which allowed a huge encompassing view in all directions. It was late now, so Astrid could barely see anything besides the sky. The King himself was hard to make out due to his dark armor. The sky, on the other hand, was filled with stars, shining like millions of diamonds. But Astrid had seen plenty of starry nights before and was not very impressed or interested. What interested her more was the strange looking tube the King was holding.

"You know, of course, that glass lenses, when made convex or concave, will cause an image to appear larger or smaller, respectively. For centuries people have been using this knowledge for magnification purposes, though more for curiosity than for practicality. I took it a few steps further and devised this thing here. Take a look." He offered her the tube. Astrid took it.

"So I just look through it?"

"Yes, and look upwards."

She pointed it at the brightest star in the sky. What she saw was a large glowing white sphere, vividly and sharply contrasting with the blackness of the night. She could make out two parallel reddish bands streaking across the sphere at an angle, and to the right and left were four seemingly randomly placed spots of light.

"Are those four lights stars?" She asked, interested, but only slightly impressed by what she saw.

"What are you looking at? Oh, Jupiter. That's what the Romans named it anyway. I've had that question too, but when I've observed them, they seem to be orbiting around Jupiter, kind of like how the moon revolves around us."

"Are you saying they're moons, then?"

"Possibly. It would make sense. I mean, if we can have objects orbiting around us, why can't other worlds have them?"

"Do you think—"Jupiter" is a world like ours?" She put down the telescope and stared at him wide eyed; her curiosity now piqued. "Do you think there could be other civilizations out there? Other humans? Inventions and ways of life we've never even dreamed of? Or do you think the Gods live up there? Maybe this Jupiter is Thor's home! Maybe…I'm looking at Valhalla…" her voice trailed off as she realized what she might have just looked at. The possibilities of what it could be awed her far more than the actual observing had. "Am I the first person to see the homes of the Gods?"

"Um…I hate to burst your bubble, but if that's what they are, you'd be second, actually,"

"Oh, right…" she wasn't really listening. She was looking up at the sky with renewed interest and a dreamlike expression. "It's a beautiful night, you know that?"

"Divine," the King said dryly, "care to see more? That star over there is called Saturn by the Romans."

She eagerly took a second look and saw a yellowish shape that seemed both a perfect circle and stretched out at the same time. It was as though a flattened oval had been inserted into the planet somehow.

"What's with the shape?"

"I don't know, actually. It almost looks like the planet has ears or something. Perhaps there are really 3 planets, or maybe it's being pulled apart or merging with other objects."

"Maybe Ragnarök is happening there? What if the Gods have started with that world, and then they'll move on to the next one until they reach Earth?" Astrid asked nervously.

"Maybe. Personally, I doubt it. I've learned that there are a lot of things that we can't explain, and we should not just use a deity as an excuse for why we can't. It's very bad science to say 'we can't discover this because the God's will not allow it.' Did you know that in some parts of the world people believe colds are caused when tiny invisible elves shoot arrows into their ankles?" He snorted, "It might entertain children, but it doesn't explain a thing to a scientist."

"How would you explain it then?"

"I can't. But I believe one day someone will. Overtime our knowledge will be added to and we will discover the explanations for everything. All I can do is learn what I can and record my work so the people of the future will have something to follow. It's like building one of those pyramids in Egypt. I'm going to lay my layer of stone down, and people will place their own layers on top of mine, until we've reached the very top." He looked at the sky wistfully.

"You're a strange man," Astrid commented.

"Because I see things in ways you don't?"

"Yes."

"It's who I am, Astrid," he said, a little sadly, "It's always been my luck and curse to see things differently from everyone else."

She went back to stargazing when they heard the roar of a Nightmare somewhere off in the distance. That reminded her of something.

"Say—a few weeks after Hiccup disappeared all of the dragons in our arena escaped. Was that you're doing?"

"All of the—oh right, that. Yeah, that was me." His very first caper actually but there was no need to tell her that.

"You sure left us with quite a mystery."

"Happy to be of service, milady. It's quite a lovely night, isn't it?"

Astrid caught the bantering tone. "Very lovely, my good sir, now, if you would care to tell me, what's that star over there?"

"That? That's Mars, another planet."

She took another look. "All I can see is a gray shape."

"That's what I usually get. Sometimes it appears reddish. I need to develope a stronger lense,"

Astrid pointed the instrument at him. "Now what's this I see? It looks there's life on Mars. Quite a strange looking creature too!"

"Oh, very funny, here, let me see that," he took the instrument from her and took a look over the sea. "Huh. I can see Mildew, gripping about something, maybe the Twins blew up his house, and there's Snotlout, trying to draw up a marriage contract for you and wondering how much he's worth…and while I'm sure there are a host of other things I could say, I think I might want to shut up before someone punches my—" He was going to say 'my lights out,' but he didn't get that far before she practically did.

"Way to ruin a fine night by bringing up those muttonheads!"

He was clutching his head. "Why is it always violence with you?"

"I prefer to think of it as 'communication.'"

"I think I got the message." He groaned.

"Good," she said smugly, "now, what shall we look at next?"

The King began collapsing the telescope. "I believe we've seen enough for one night, and I seriously need some ice."

"Did I hit you that hard? I didn't think it was that much…"

"I'm wearing a metal helmet, remember?"

"Right…ooh, sorry." She meant it. She had only intended to hit him playfully. "I guess I don't know my own strength."

"You don't say. Toothless, could you lead her back please?"

Astrid jumped. She hadn't realized the Night Fury had snuck up behind her.

" **What happened**?" the Night Fury demanded. " **I heard you yelping and groaning. What's going on**?"

" **Nothing Bud, she just like's to give people headaches**." He gestured for Astrid to follow the dragon.

"So…until tomorrow then?" she asked.

"Until tomorrow then," he replied.

She nodded and turned to leave, but hesitated.

"I really sorry—I didn't mean to hit you so hard."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I gave you a reason to do so."

She came closer to him. A bit too close for his comfort. "So, we're good, right?" She asked.

"Sure we're…um, good, yes very good and…I honestly don't know what to say right now." To his surprise she smiled. He felt very glad that she couldn't see his own expression, because he could feel himself blushing.

"What's so funny?" He asked, hoping he sounded casual.

"Nothing, it's just…" She was suddenly reminded of Hiccup. He'd stammer too when he was nervous. Sometimes it was annoying, but other times she had found it cute. "So, um…where were we?"

"Um…oh right, I was asking if we were good?"

"Right, sure, we are…so, see you tomorrow?"

"I don't know who else you'd be expecting to see, so yes?" He replied dryly. She looked at him strangely, until Toothless gave an impatient huff.

" **Well that was awkward** ," the King mumbled in Dragonese, so Astrid wouldn't understand what he was saying. " **Gotta stay focused, gotta stay focused. Yes, she's even more beautiful than I remember, but I can't act on impulse much or else everything's going to fall apart.** " He looked up at the stars again.

' _The deepest dreams you have,_

 _Have a chance of becoming real'_

Should I hope so?"


	9. Chapter 9

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 9**

 **Dinner and What Followed**

For the next two days the Dragon King continued to show Astrid around different parts of the Sanctuary. He even offered to take her for a flight on a dragon, but she declined. While she could not deny her feelings about dragons were changing, she was still not comfortable with the idea of riding one. Moments later, when Astrid asked if he would like to spar with her, he declined. Her axe was gathering dust in a corner.

Among other things, they often spent time watching Stormfly's babies or wandering around the various paths and just talking. She learned some more about the places he had seen, at one point refusing to believe there was such a creature as a rhinoceros, and he learned more about what she had been doing on Berk. He seemed very interested when she told him about the survival training she had taught, and chuckled rather loudly when she mentioned the Twins had shot Spitelout's money into the ocean.

At other times during the days he would vanish for hours. She stayed in her room when this happened, unwilling to risk getting into trouble with the dragons. What he was doing during those moments she had no idea. He might be out flying, attending to the island, and once she heard hammering and guessed he was at his forge. For her part, she spent some time writing down her own observations to present to the Chief upon her return. The King had provided her with charcoal and parchment though just how he had gotten them she had no idea. After all she had seen, if he had told her there was a dragon with scales that turned into parchment when it molted, she would have believed it.

What interested her most of all was the King himself. It was not just that she was greatly impressed by his ability to live harmoniously with dragons, nor was it his knowledge of a world she'd never imagined. Rather, it was his behavior. She could not shake off the sense that he knew something that she did not, yet ought to. The way he moved around her at times felt disquietingly familiar. After all he had told her the first day he stopped discussing his own life, baring the observations on his travels. While Astrid decided to respect his privacy, it didn't lessen her curiosity about him. Quite the contrary for by not talking about it he only added to the mysterious air about him. She had hoped he would show her his own room, but he did not. She did not even known where it was located.

Another one of the many things that aroused her suspicions was that her guide never ate in her presence. Whenever they stopped for a meal during the day he would watch her but ate nothing himself, and he was completely absent at breakfast and suppertime. Astrid quickly deduced that he was unwilling to take off his helmet or his mask, whichever he happened to be wearing. Both of them covered his mouth. This deduction just raised another question: exactly what he concealing? This further fueled the sense that she knew him from somewhere. _He_ certainly seemed to know an awful lot about _her_ , and though when she mentioned this he shrugged and mumbled something about 'keeping informed,' she wasn't entirely convinced his spy network was his sole source of information.

Looking at the helmet and wondering what it concealed was a great source of frustration for her. Indeed, it seemed that the more she learned about the Sanctuary and the person who had built it, the less she knew about that person. It had grown so frustrating in fact that by the end of her fourth day there she considered confronting him about it, and even thought of getting close to him and pulling it off. He seemed to be aware of this, however, for at times he intentionally kept an arm's length away from her, and she suspected he had some trick about his helmets and masks to keep them firmly attached to his head.

She was in her room compiling and organizing her notes for the day, when to her surprise a letter was carried in by a Terror. Its contents asked her if she would like to join the Dragon King for a sunset dinner.

She hastily wrote a 'yes' on the parchment and handing it to the waiting Terror. The prospect of having a meal with him suddenly calmed her curiosity, for she felt and hoped that all of her questions would be answered before she went to bed that night. A part of her wondered if he was trying to ask her out on a date or if there was more to this meal than his letter had let on, but she decided she was reading too much into it. That didn't stop her, however, from trying to look as attractive as she possibly could and spending a bit more time than usual arranging her hair.

As evening fell she made her way to the Main Hall (she didn't need Midnight to guide her anymore), where he was waiting with a basket and a blanket tucked under his arm. She noticed that his mask was different. While most of his face including his eyes was still concealed, this one didn't cover his mouth.

"Good evening," he said formally. Thanks to the new mask, his voice was clearer and more nasally than it had sounded before. "You…look…well, very nice, I mean…" the little of his face that she could see appeared to be turning red. "Well, anyway, shall we?" He gestured with his arm and they walked off down a passage Astrid had never used before. The passage began sloping upwards and they were soon walking on top of the wall of the crater instead of inside it.

"Here we are," he pointed to a spot besides a large boulder. "The sun will be setting in about an hour, but there's no hurry."

"Where's Toothless?" she asked, looking around for the Night Fury.

"Oh, I suggested he spend some time with his dragon friends tonight. Let the humans have some time together." He chuckled, "it's been a very long time since that's happened, I can tell you." He threw the blanket on the grass, sat down on it, and began to distribute the contents of the basket.

"Well, let's see here," he said, "bananas, here's the sole and here's some sauce for it—here's some bread and cheese—and here are some peas and carrots," He produced these items as he spoke and then looked up at her to see her reaction. Astrid glanced at the basket, which now only contained a bottle.

"Oh, I almost forgot! For our beverage tonight, here's a bottle of apple cider." He poured the drink into two gleaming silver goblets, handed on to Astrid, and raised his own. "Cheers!"

"This is delicious," Astrid said after she'd sipped it.

"And there's no alcohol in it either," he told her, "you could drink a whole barrel of it and your only problem would be the need to use outhouse 5 times an hour."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said dryly.

"Shamrock didn't," he chuckled,

Astrid chuckled too. "All right, I can tell you want to tell me more about it, so how is it made?"

"Simple. I put apples under a wooded press, and then have a Gronkle sit on it. The apple juice is squeezed out into a trough which leads to a bucket. It's then purified and sugar and water are added, and viola! But anyway, shall we eat?"

"And where'd you get the cheese from? I suppose a dragon produced it?"

"Dragons don't produce milk. I bought it." Technically he had stolen it, but he left behind enough coins so he did not consider it illegal. The way he saw it, he just bought it when the seller was not present. "You'll find most merchants don't care what you look like as long as you've got the money." Or don't actually see you. "I got the money from a sunken ship. There are lots of wrecks underwater and Scauldrons fish up valuables for me when I need it. Now, shall we _eat_?"

They did. For some time neither of them spoke, opting to eat and look out over the ocean. Then he abruptly asked her what she thought of his home.

"It's very…interesting," Astrid said after considering her answer, "you certainly seem to live well,"

"I like to think so too," he replied, sipping his cider.

"But do you ever get…well, tired of having only dragons for company? Don't you ever want to spend some time with a human?"

"I _believe_ that's what I'm doing right now,"

Astrid nearly punched him in the arm for that answer. "That's not what I meant!"

He chuckled, and for the very first time Astrid saw him genuinely smile. There was something so warm about his expression that for an instant her heart fluttered, but she told herself it was only due to the delicious food she'd been eating.

"I'm quite satisfied with the company I have now," he said softly, "I don't need anybody else here."

"But why don't you want any human friends?"

"Aren't _you_ my friend?" he asked lightly.

"I—I suppose so, but wouldn't you want any more? You seem like a very nice man and you're incredibly inventive—so why don't you want to live amongst your own kind?" She suddenly felt coquettish. Perhaps it was the fact that she was having dinner with him at sunset. "Of course, I don't _object_ to you preferring to be alone with _me_ ,"

"And I hope you don't _object_ to being alone with _me_ , milady" he grinned.

"I might if this was Berk. After all, a warrior like me having dinner with the Dragon King at sunset…that would get a lot of people talking,"

He laughed. "I can already hear the dragons gossiping about this. The so-called Dragon King is having a sunset dinner with a beautiful she-Viking. It'll be months before they stop teasing me."

Astrid laughed and grinned back and a change came over him. He was looking at her in such a way that made her feel strange. Butterflies seemed to be in her stomach, and her heartbeat seemed to increase. Despite the air beginning to get cooler, her forehead suddenly felt warm. She couldn't even explain or describe what she was feeling. She had little experience with men, especially romantically. Most of the options on Berk were not even worth considering in her opinion. Consequently, she had no idea of how to react to what she was feeling. So she shook herself, pushed her hair out of her face, and gave him a reassuring smile. It had the opposite effect, for she heard him inhale sharply and become tense. As casually as she could, she asked if anything was the matter. He just shook his head and began to stare at the tree behind her. For what was only a few minutes but felt much longer, neither of them spoke, knew what to say, or even looked at each other.

"Look," he said suddenly, and he pointed towards the ocean. The sun had begun to set in earnest now. The sky around it had changed to a brilliant gold, progressively turning to a cornflower blue. The clouds were a mixture of burnished orange and blood red and many were tilted and shaped so that they looked like fingers pointing towards the great orb that gave the world its light. The mighty ocean below appeared to be a sea of molten bronze rather than water, and far off on the eastern horizon a single star had appeared; one small crystal white point amidst the slowly darkening heavens.

"It's beautiful" Astrid whispered. Even though she couldn't see his eyes, she could tell that they were looking right into hers. She felt was as if an invisible power was trying to bring them together. For a moment the two of them seemed to be about to succumb to this pressure, when the Dragon King abruptly got to his feet and walked towards the edge of the cliff. He stood there with his arms outstretched and eyes closed. He took a deep breath, letting his body absorb the last warmth of the sun's rays.

"Look at this, Astrid," he said, opening his eyes and resuming his usual posture. "We are seeing something that no other humans can see tonight, because no other humans have ever stood on these cliffs. There's nothing here but us and the sky, the sea, and the land we're standing on.

"When I look out at times like this I realize just what it means to have Toothless for my best friend. We can go anywhere we like. We can fly to the tops of the tallest mountains on Earth, we can cross the largest oceans and deserts, journey into the deepest parts of jungles, perch on the tallest trees, soar over and into canyons no human has ever seen before, or we can descend into caves none know to even exist. There's no limit to what I can do. How many people can say they've touched the clouds? I've gone closer to the stars than anybody in Europe, and I might just fly high enough to touch them one night. Why would I want to go to live with a bunch of brutes who think of nothing but drinking and fighting, when I could do _that_?

"All over the world people are destroying each other, kings oppress their subjects, landlords cheat their tenants, women are raped, beaten, and disgraced while men are praised for their sexual conquests, and people slave away every day of their lives and die no richer or happier than they were when they were born. A handful grows bloated on silk mattresses and ignores the people just outside their door sleeping in the mud. And all the while wars are going on, bringing out all the evil in every soldier. On the battlefield you're praised for running a sword or spear through somebody's guts; the more the merrier. You can dismember and decapitate all you want; cut a living person into a pile of unrecognizable blood soaked pieces, and as long as it's the enemy, who's going to argue? At home you'd be executed yourself for doing so, but on the battlefield commit those same actions and you're a hero.

"But with Toothless, I can get away from all of that. Let the rest of the world allow injustice and violence to rule everything: I don't have to be a part of that. I can fly a little ways into the air, and suddenly everything wrong with the earth fades away. What is glory, or riches, or slaves, or wines to me, when I can see a sight like this whenever I want to? Here, I'm free from everything, Astrid. Here, I am my own master, answerable to nobody but myself and the best friend I've ever known and will ever know! That's why I live with dragons, Astrid! The world is at my feet, and nobody can stop me from doing whatever I want! With Toothless, I have freedom; sweet, pure, wholesome, and unfettered in every way!" He suddenly checked himself and sat down. "Why wouldn't I want this life?" he said softly, more to himself that to Astrid. "Why wouldn't anyone want this life?"

It was some time before anybody spoke again. He stared at the sky reflectively while Astrid looked at him with greater interest than ever before. While listening to his speech she'd become more and more convinced that she knew this man somehow. She felt that his name had been on the tip of her tongue this entire time and yet she still couldn't get it out. It was driving her mad and she suddenly couldn't stand it anymore.

"Will you do something for me if I asked you?" she said. It had been some time since anybody had spoken and her voice sounded a lot louder than she had intended. He snapped out of his reverie and smiled.

"Ask away,"

"Will you take off your mask?"

His smile vanished instantly.

"No."

"Then will you tell me your real name?"

"No."

As she considered what to say next, Astrid shifted her position, hoping she might get a chance to snatch his mask off. He seemed to be aware of what she was planning, however, for he backed away from her.

"Please?" Astrid said, "You've shown me so much already. Why not show me your face too? Why not tell me who you really are?"

"Because I have no name, and it's better if you don't see my face." He replied quietly.

"Why? Are you horribly disfigured or something?"

"As a matter of fact, yes I am. I live among creatures that breathe fire and have very sharp claws. Accidents have happened. I can't show you my face because I don't exactly have one anymore. Besides—and I'm telling you this so you'll understand—doing so would be dangerous."

"Dangerous? How could it be dangerous to know what you look like?"

"Astrid, think about it. To a great many people in the world, I am among their worst enemies. Dagur, Alvin, Drago Bludvist, and plenty of others would give their fortunes to see my head on a plate of lettuce."

"And do you think I'd tell people like that what you look like?" she retorted, "More to the point, what difference would it make if they knew what you looked like? How could they use that knowledge against you?"

"As to the first question, when you return to Berk, you will be swamped with questions. Everybody will want to know every little detail that you can remember, and everything you tell them will soon be known throughout the entire archipelago. Any one of those people who count me as an enemy will soon hear everything too. But you can't tell them what I look like if you don't know yourself." He turned away from her and stared at the sky. "Truth be told, Astrid, I've been thinking recently that showing up at that meeting was a mistake. I might have moved too soon before it was safe to do so. I was overconfident. We'd just driven off Bludvist and I was convinced the time had right. I might have misjudged things. Even allowing you to stay here might have been a mistake at this point in time."

"But since you live way out here, what good would it do them to know what you look like?" Her tone grew sympathetic and understanding. "If you're afraid of scaring me, there's nothing to worry about. I've seen disfigurements, I can stand the sight."

"If you know what I look like, sooner or later you'll tell somebody, and they'll tell somebody, and eventually every Viking will know, and then some will use that knowledge to figure out who I am. People like Dagur and Alvin will then hear about it, and they will go after anyone who might be connected to me, and they will use them to get to me. They'd go after you too, if they thought you had the knowledge of my identity. They'd torture you, Astrid, and they'd torture everyone else I once cared about, because they'd believe I would not be able to stand back and let it happen. And they'd be right. I'd come to stop them, and walk right into whatever trap they'd set for me, and as long as they had hostages, I'd be their slave until they decided to finish me off." He was shaking now and his voice was trembling. "That's why I won't show you who I am, Astrid. It would put too many lives at risk, including yours and mine. And that's a risk I refuse to take."

"But what if I promise not to tell anyone?"

"Astrid, they'd torture it out of you. Do you have any idea about what that is like?" He spoke more coldly than she had ever heard.

"Do you?" She countered. She noticed he was trembling and muttering something. It took him some effort to control himself.

"That—that's beside the point. I am not taking this mask off, and if you try anything, I will not let you go back to Berk."

Astrid was shocked. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Push me any further and you'll find out!"

"My tribe would come for me if you did that!"

"I'd like to see them try! But if you heed my warnings, there will be nothing to worry about."

Astrid looked furious.

"No!" He backed even further away from her. "I've given you my reasons, and I think they are perfectly understandable. I cannot let you know who I am, and if you aren't afraid for your own sake, think about the other lives you'd put in danger if you knew! If you knew who I was—" his voice trailed off. Abruptly he began to pick up the plates. "I think we should go inside before the night chill settles in."

He deliberately kept his distance from Astrid as they walked back, and when they reached a fork in the tunnels he only said 'goodnight' and left. Astrid felt a sudden impulse to follow him, but checked herself. She went to her room but made no efforts to go to bed. Instead she paced around debating what he had told her. Eventually she began to hear a loud clanging sound and guessed the King was blacksmithing again.

'Blacksmithing,' she thought, 'hah, just like Gobber, just like...'

Blacksmithing.

Oh Gods she had been so stupid!

Her heart began to pound. The pieces came together and it all began to make sense. Dear Odin, the answer had all been right in front of her this whole time and she had only now guessed it!

But now that she had guessed it, what was she going to do about it? His warnings came back to her memory and she knew beyond any doubt they were not idle ones. He said himself he would not let her leave if she knew, so she obviously could not tell him. But what about anyone else? How would the Chief react if he knew? She dared not think of that. She knew how angry he could get—did he not still hate dragons for killing his wife after over 20 years? And what would happen if the rest of the Viking tribes found out? Again his warnings came back to her.

She made up her mind quickly. She obviously could not tell _him_ that she knew now. She feared him now that she knew who he was. He was not the boy she had known, that much was obvious. Who knew what he was capable of now? And here, the only authority was his. He was not answerable to anyone here. She felt she would have to play dumb if she ever wanted to see her parents again. But would she tell her parents when she got back? She could not see what good it would do. No, whatever she had thought of this night in this room would not be told to anyone. For the sake of peace, she would not reveal who she thought the King's truly was.

Another thought came to mind and strengthened her resolution. She had seen him over the years get trounced upon by everybody, ignored by his family, insulted by most others, deserted by everyone except Gobber. Now he was here and happy. That speech he had made at dinner about freedom came back to her. How could she risk taking that happiness away from him now? She owed it to him to keep this a secret.

As soon as she made this resolution doubts plagued her and the noise did little to calm things. Was she doing the honorable thing? Joining in a secret and keeping a lie did not sound very honorable. But yet again she thought about how the Chief might react. And now something selfish as well came up. If by some miracle the Chief and the rest of Berk took this news well, what would happen to her position in the tribe? The fear of losing it was strong. What would her father say if such a thing happened?

She stayed up thinking and pacing around, running through her options over and over again until it was nearly morning.

Astrid's guess had been right, for as soon as he was alone the King went straight to the forge, made certain the doors were locked, and began to pound away on an axe blade. He often did so when he was distressed. It gave him something else to think about, and allowed him the chance to take out his frustrations on the metal, and he really needed it tonight. He plunged into the task ferociously until he began to forget about what had happened. He lost track of everything that wasn't a part of blacksmithing, until he had no idea of how long he'd been working and felt no reason to care about how long he'd been working. He might have gone on in this way until daybreak, when he was snapped out of his unrelenting focus by a loud pounding sound on the doors that made them shake. He unlocked the doors and pulled them open to find an impatient Toothless.

" **Well it's about time**!"

" **Sorry, Bud** ," his best friend replied sheepishly, " **I just really got into my work** ,"

" **I noticed. So, how'd it go—and why are you still wearing your mask**?"

The King put his hammer down and sat on a stool sighing. " **I was afraid she might sneak in and see my face. I had to lie to her and tell her I was horribly disfigured, but I'm not sure if she bought it**." He briefly described what had happened. Toothless listened grimly.

" **Was I right, Bud**?" He asked when he'd finished the retelling.

" **I don't know, to be honest**."

He threw up his hands in exasperation. " **I don't either! It's driving me crazy! Was it sensible or cowardly to not tell her the truth? I've already told her so much now; why not just finish the job? I'm already tired of talking in half truths and giving vague hints!** "

" **Look, I know it's frustrating, but there are only a few more days to go, and then she'll be gone**."

" **Yeah, she'll be gone** " he mumbled, " **she'll go back to Berk and who knows when I'll ever get a chance to talk to her again, and I can't make up my mind if I ought to, or if I even want to! I'd like nothing better than to tell her everything, but what would she do if I did? What would happen when she tells everybody else? What'll happen when** _ **they**_ **find out? Gods, I had to threaten her to get her to drop it! How could I do such a thing? Why does it always have to be** _ **me**_ **in these predicaments**?" he slammed his fist onto a sheet of iron.

" **Why'd you even ask her to dinner if you were so concerned about this**?" Toothless demanded.

He shrugged. " **The plan this whole time has been trying to get Astrid on our side. I was simply following the plan, and I thought it might nice to share a meal with her, that's all. And look how well** _ **that**_ **turned out!"**

Toothless went over to him and looked him straight in the eye. " **I think there's more to it than that. I think you've always had feelings for her and that a part of you was hoping to indulge in them tonight.** " His friend sighed and sat down again, taking off his helmet and running his hands through his hair in exasperation.

" **Hic—** "

" **Don't say it**!"

" **Sorry**."

" **I abandoned that name, Bud, you know that**."

" **Sometimes I wish you'd choose a new one**."

" **Like 'Indecisive'**?" The Dragon King asked with a sad chuckle. Toothless smacked him in the head with his tail.

" **Getting back to my question** ," Toothless said, ignoring his rider's yelps of pain, " **Am I right? Is that what you've been hoping to do this whole time? Are you trying to get Astrid to be your mate**?"

" **I'm thinking I ought to teach you dragons a few human terms to make conversations a bit less awkward**."

" **Different words, same meanings and implications. But if it makes you feel better:** _ **what**_ **do you hope to gain by spending time with Astrid**?"

He sighed. " **She doesn't have much time left here. I wanted to make the most of what we have left, that's all**."

" **Spending more time with the human who just so happens to be the same human whom you've had feelings for ever since you first set eyes on her? The same human you've compared every single woman to on our travels? The same human whom you still have feelings for**?"

" **I never said that**."

" **Oh please, how long have we known each other?** " He looked at his friend square in the eye again. " **You still have feelings for her. Just admit it**."

" **I don't know, bud, I don't know, all right! All week I've been trying to assure myself I'm staying focused on our plans, that I'm not being distracted by personal feelings but…the fact that the woman I worshiped a decade ago is actually looking at me and listening to me…it makes me feel happy, bud. I can't help myself when she's around, I like being able to talk to her and tell her things! It's as if I've got to make up for all those years of stuttering and our eight year separation! That night when we were stargazing…and tonight, when we were in the sunset and she smiled at me…she looked so beautiful it made my heart started pounding…I came so close to kissing her, and there was a moment when I thought she wanted me too."** He put a hand to his forehead as if feeling his temperature. **"I can't stop thinking about it, Bud! My heart pounds when I'm alone with her, the sight of her smiling gives me butterflies in my stomach, and I keep thinking about her leaving the Sanctuary and I don't her to go. I sometimes feel like I should just go and confess everything and beg her to stay with me.** " His smiled at the thought, and then it slowly faded. " **And then reality returns, and I'm reminded that I can't do that."**

" **Why not?"**

" **I remember why it just wouldn't work, Bud. You know as well as I do her staying here wouldn't work out."**

" **Honestly, I don't profess to be an expert in those kinds of things** ," the dragon looked at him sadly, " **I'm good at reading you, but that's because we've been brothers for such a long time. As for the girl, I don't know. Still, she's here, isn't she? If you've got feelings for her, why don't you do something about it? You weren't scared when we faced the Red Death, why should a female Viking make you nervous? Sitting here and moping isn't going to bring the two of you together! Go talk to her!** _ **Really**_ **talk to her! Tell her the whole truth, if you think it'll work! Nobody here's going to stop you!** " When his human didn't move Toothless growled in exasperation. " **Ugh! I hate seeing you like this! I always feel nervous when you can't make up your mind about something! When we fought the Red Death I wasn't scared because I knew you had a plan to follow, and it's been the same in all of our adventures…you'd come up with a plan and we'd follow it, and if it went wrong you'd think of something else, but** _ **this**_ **…this is just unnatural! You've always been quick to make a decision, so what makes this occasion so different**?"

He spent some time considering the question, and when he finally answered he spoke very determinedly.

" **Because it's not just me I've got to think about in this case, Toothless. Suppose I do what you suggest: go to her room and bare my soul to her and tell her everything. What if she rejects me? She barely even looked at me when we were younger, and who knows how her opinion of me has changed since then, if at all? Tonight certainly did not help, I can promise you that. If she rejected me, she'd then probably reject everything we've shown her about dragons, and then she'll return to Berk and tell them exactly what we** _ **don't**_ **want her to say. It could wreck our plans just when they were starting to get going. What kind of credibility would I have among the tribes we're trying to get on our side if they knew that the Dragon King was called fishbone, useless, and the village disappointment, among other things? I can't risk everything we've built on a mere crush—** "

" **You don't believe it's just 'a mere crush**.'"

" **That doesn't matter here, Bud! Don't you get it? What matters first and foremost is the peace we've been working for between dragons and humans! That should have been my priority these past days, only every time I'm around her I keep forgetting it! But suppose I do what you suggested and she reciprocates my feelings? What then? She's going back to Berk in a few days, and I'm staying here. How would we maintain a relationship? And what if the people of Berk don't approve of it or refuse to approve of dragons, which would amount to the same thing in this case. We couldn't keep it a secret for very long, and sooner or later she'd have to decide to stay with her family, tribe, and friends or stay with me. I don't want to be the reason she'd have to make that decision. And besides, if word got out of our relationship, Drago or Alvin might take advantage of it. And I'll bet Snotlout wouldn't like it too much either." N** ow his voice began to tremble. **"I…I think that for now…at least, until there's no more chance of hostility between us and Berk…there's no chance for Astrid and me to be a couple…there's probably no chance for me to be involved with anybody, actually…I'm too different here.** " Tears suddenly came into his eyes. Toothless gently nudged him.

" **Bud, you know what it's like having to be the only one of your kind. You know what it's like to lack company of your own kind** ,"

" **I've got you and that's good enough for me**." Toothless replied firmly.

" **But at least in your case there's nothing you can do about it because we've never seen another Night Fury. But in my case…look, earlier tonight Astrid was asking me if I ever want human friends, and the truth is, sometimes I do. And while I know there are plenty of humans within a few hours flight of here, I keep feeling that I can't go near them. It sounds crazy, I'm sure, but that's how I feel, Bud."**

" **Well, who needs them? You've got us**!"

" **I know that, Bud, and you guys are the greatest, but I just…I'm still a human and you guys are all dragons, and the fact remains I'm still alienated from my own species here because all the other humans around here disagree with me. I feel that it's just like it was before I met you! And after all these years I'm getting tired of being different from the rest. Why can't I just be more like everyone else?** " He shouted.

" **I've got a better question. Why can't everyone else just be more like you**?"

His friend suddenly started laughing. " **Because I'm an adrenaline addict who lives with dragons**."

" **And don't we love you for it!** " Toothless grinned, then suddenly pounced on him and began licking him.

" **How many times do I have to tell you—**?"

" **I** _ **know**_ **that stuff doesn't wash out, yeah, yeah, yeah, like you wash your clothes much to begin with**." He got up and watched his rider try and wipe saliva from his armor. " **You know, we could go back to China or India, or someplace that accepts dragons. They were friendly enough. They'd accept you. I kept telling you we could settle down there, you could find a lovely woman and raise a clutch…"**

" **And abandon everything we've started here? We came here to change people's minds, and that's what we're going to do."**

" **Good point. Say, suppose we take Astrid flying? I'll bet I could get her to fall in love with you if we did**."

The human chuckled. " **Right, because all it takes to win a girl's heart is to take her flying through the clouds."**

" **How about we kidnap her**?"

" **Toothless**!"

" **Why not? Kidnap her, take her on a flight, confess your feelings, kiss her until she likes it…I know a lovely quaint little spot in Sweden…bunch of islands just on the Ostsee. It's the perfect spot for a romantic kidnapping**!"

" **Like that's going to go over well. You're really weird, you know that**?"

" **We're all a bit weird, I think. It's what keeps us from getting bored**."

" **I'm best friend with a dragon who's a kidnapper and a philosopher. I'm a lucky man**."

" **I'm glad you realize it. And it just might work. You never know…"**

" **No, we don't know. But last time I asked her about riding a dragon she declined."** He looked thoughtful and calculating. **"But she's getting more comfortable, so perhaps she'll be less reluctant in a day or two. All the same, if she does go flying, she'll need her own dragon, because I don't want her sitting behind me. She could pull my mask off. That's why I did take her flying initially, that and the fact that I wanted her accustomed to peaceful dragons first**." He groaned. " **And I threatened to keep her here if she tried to see my face. Gods I was so horrible then, but I had to say something to keep her away from me and that was all I could think of. I've gotta apologize."**

" **But why should it matter about your mask? You're going to reveal yourself to her one day, right**?"

" **Yes—at least, I believe I will, but it would be better to do it on my own terms, not if I'm taken by surprise. And I want to be certain of what she thinks about me first. And I have to be certain it's safe to do so. Bud, do you think we moved prematurely here? Drago's gone for the moment, but he was hardly the only one out here who was an enemy to dragons. Maybe we should have waited longer, or tried things on a smaller scale instead of telling every Chief in existence about us."**

" **But if you just keep waiting it'll never happen."**

" **True, but…well, it doesn't matter now. What's done is done. It's what will be done next that matters now. And maybe it's not hopeless…if we get Astrid on our side I think I could start getting others to accept the facts too…in fact, maybe it's for the best we moved too soon. If we get our potential enemies united against us and can get any potential allies to unite with us, we could settle this…but that means war."**

" **We know the risks."** Toothless said. " **So, we get our enemies into one group and offer them one last chance and then finish off anyone who ignores it, then, with a victory on our side, we go forward integrating dragons and you get Astrid as your mate. That's nice and straightforward."**

He glanced bitterly at his helmet. " **Assuming she'd ever go for all of—** "

" **If you think of gesturing to all of yourself, I will wash the saliva from your clothes by dropping you in the ocean**!" Toothless growled. " **I think you're fine just the way you are—except for when you've pulled some of those crazy stunts—"**

" **What stunts are we talking about exactly?"**

" **That latest Dragonfly test flight, for instance?"**

" **Oh, right...mild calibration issues."**

" **Your 'mild calibration issues' are going to be the death of me!"** Toothless laughed **. "Even so, those people on Berk were stupid for not using their brains and seeing you for who you truly are, and that's** _ **their**_ **loss! And if they're still acting that way, I say let 'em have that snot filled chuck of beef for their next chief and deal with it! And if Astrid is the same as the rest of them, then she can mate with Snotty and I'm sure they'll be very happy!"**

" **When you put it like that, I don't know if I should laugh, be horrified, or feel pity for Berk."**

" **Well, they gave you 15 horrible years. I'd say let them pay for it**."

" **Bud, we can't be too vindictive, you know that. It sets a bad example that others won't hesitate to follow.** " He patted his dragon on the head. " **Still, thanks Bud**."

" **Getting back to a subject we were talking about earlier, do** _ **you**_ **want to go flying**?"

The King smiled sadly." **Yeah, I'd like that,** "As he put on his helmet and mask he abruptly turned to the Night Fury. " **Toothless, if I ever lost you…** "

" **You won't**."

" **If I ever lost you, Bud, I'd…I'd probably go insane or kill myself or something**."

" **Remember our agreement**!" Toothless growled. " **We promised each other if one of us died the other one would** _ **not**_ **do anything to speed up their own death**."

" **I know, but still…I don't know what I'd do without you to help me…thanks Bud**."

" **I'm always here for you, and you know it. And I always will be**."

" **All the same, Bud** ," his best friend replied as he finished putting the saddle on the dragon. " **I want you to look after of yourself**."

" **You've got to do that too**." Toothless replied, " **So, have you made up your mind about Astrid**?"

" **Yes. I've got to apologize to her, and remember that I can't let any personal feelings get in the way of things. And we've still got to keep my identity secret until we're positive we've got enough supporters**." He was about to climb onto the dragon's back when a blue Terrible Terror flew into the room.

" **Sir! Sir**!"

" **What's up**?"

The small dragon landed on the King's shoulder and whispered something into his ear. His grip on the saddle tightened.

" **What is it**?" Toothless asked.

" **Drago Bludvist has been spotted on a ship off the coast of Denmark heading this way,** " the King replied grimly. His hands began twitching. " **And that's not all. Remember Adoncia**?"

" **Oh no…** "

Authors Note:

I'll bet everyone thought this was going to be the big reveal moment. Not yet!


	10. Chapter 10

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 10**

 **Leaving and Returning**

The following morning Astrid woke up and found a note on one of the benches.

" _I'm unexpectedly called away, so you will be on your own for today and possibly tomorrow. I've left instructions for your comforts, so enjoy yourself as you see fit but remember my conditions concerning your safety_."

On the first day of his absence she kept to her room for the most part, as she did not feel comfortable getting nearer to the dragons without the King present, and she still had more thinking to do. It was not long, however, before she began to get bored and a bit tired of thinking, so she spent some time wandering around the tunnels. At one point she passed a section that had a large set of double doors. She wondered if that led to the King's room, and felt an impulse to go down it and look around, if only to confirm her suspicions. To her disappointment, however, she found the door to the room was shut and she could not find a way to open it.

After breakfast on the second day of the King's absence, she decided to spend the day exercising, something she'd been neglecting these past few weeks due to all her traveling. She left her room and made her way up the tunnel that led to the top of the crater. She'd intended to find a place to practice away from the dragons, but as soon as she began doing stretches dragons started coming over and watching her.

"What are you guys looking at?" she asked sharply. They just kept staring curiously at her. She tried to ignore their looks and kept at it, but then when she started doing pushups a Timberjack began to imitate her! When she tried to do crunches, some Gronkles started to do the same, but due to their thick bodies they could not curl up very easily, and ended up rolling down the hillside like giant boulders! And when Astrid went jogging a pack of Speed Stinger dragons decided to run with her, and when they realized that they could run faster than her they began showing off, either by running ahead and waiting for the slowpoke human to catch up or running in circles around her with smug expressions on their faces.

At first Astrid was surprised by this behavior, then amused, but then one of them began doing a kind of taunting dance as it ran away from her backwards. At that point her competitive instincts were aroused.

"All right, you asked for it!" Astrid shouted and took off as fast as she could. The Stingers were surprised when she caught up with them but they started running faster too, which prompted Astrid to push even harder. Down the trail they tore. Astrid felt her lungs screaming but she refused to stop. In her mind only winning mattered now. It was a contest between this island and hers, between Dragons and humans, and in both cases she was determined to win. Unfortunately, any hope for that ended when the leading Speed Stinger suddenly slipped and fell, and everyone behind it ran right into it. Astrid leapt over the first Stinger, only to land on another one and stumble. Before she knew it, a dozen Stingers had piled on top of her.

"Now here's something they'll never see on Berk. Astrid Hofferson stuck in a pile of Speed Stingers." She thought as she began taking deep breaths. She felt no reason to disentangle herself at the moment. The reaction of her workout suddenly struck and she felt too worn out to move. The Stingers seemed to be the same way, for they were only panting and making groaning sounds.

"So is anybody going to move first or should I?" She finally asked when her heart wasn't pounding at 10 times its normal speed.

"I'd say you should." She looked up and saw Toothless landing in front of her. The King hopped off the dragon and strolled casually over to the pile. "Having fun?"

"Tell these things to get off me!"

"Why? I'm rather enjoying this," the King laughed, " **all right, guys, let her up** ," Very slowly some Stingers flopped off the pile and Astrid was able to stand up.

"So," she said when she reached the Dragon King, reminding herself to not act strangely, "where have _you_ been?"

"Monitoring Drago Bludvist." At this name the Speed Stingers jumped to their feet shrieking and ran away.

"A lot of the dragons here do that when Drago gets mentioned."

"Remind me who that is again?"

"First, I have to apologize for what happened earlier."

"Oh, there's no need for that!" Astrid said hastily, "I mean…I shouldn't have pushed you like that, I didn't realize…"

"Maybe, but I should not have reacted like that either. I especially want to make it clear that I would never keep you a prisoner—what didn't you realize?"

"I—didn't realize the consequences of sharing all your secrets," she lied. The King took a posture that she knew by now meant he was deep in thought.

"So we're good right?"

Astrid suddenly punched him in the shoulder. "Never threaten me again if you know what's good for you!"

"Is this more of your communication?"

"Yep!"

"Oof, well the message has been taken." He gestured for her to follow him and he led her down a steep pathway that took them to the very bottom of the crater.

"So, Drago Bludvist. He's a Slav; a Slav with a violent thirst for power. You know Alvin the Treacherous?"

"Not personally, but I know him by his reputation." Alvin's treachery and banishment from Berk had happened a few years before she was born.

"Well, picture a man with more brains and brawns, more ambition, more ruthlessness, and less humor. He's been trying for years to make a dragon army, and we've been trying for years to stop him." The King abruptly sat down on a rock and began to adjust his prosthetic. "The Slavs live in regions of Europe to the east and south. They have a long history of warfare. A lot of the land over there isn't very fertile, so what is fertile has been hotly contested over, among other things. As it turns out, a lot of these places also had dragon nests. So you have families invading territory for their own gain, dragons and other families fighting back to claim what in their eyes belongs to them, and it just keeps escalating from there. I'm using the present tense because it's still going on. Anyhow, I don't know exactly what happened to Drago, but I do know he at some point found that he could intimidate dragons into servitude. This gave him an advantage nobody had, so the opposing tribes banded together against the common foe and defeated him through sheer weight of numbers and firepower."

"What stopped them from creating their own armies of dragons?"

"I imagine they've tried to. For one reason or another, nobody succeeded. It's not easy for a human to force a dragon to submit to your control—you Vikings have been fighting them for centuries and have never succeeded. And don't look at me—I don't force dragons to do what I like. They obey me because they want to. Anyhow, Drago was banished from the east and made his way over here, along with his plans to put a new army of dragons together. And the end result of it was, well…"

They were at the bottom of the crater now and beside the lake that filled it. She followed him along the path and she spotted more dragons. But these dragons were not like the magnificent majestic creatures she had seen so far. They seemed timid, hesitant, nervous, and weary. Many of them avoided the humans and turned away from them. Some approached uncertainly, as though they were afraid to look at them.

Astrid felt like she was walking among the wounded and dead after a dragon raid. The King had lost the animated spirit he'd had a few minutes ago. Both he and Toothless looked like their hearts were breaking.

"An inspiring sight, isn't it?" He said ironically. "Practically every dragon here was injured thanks to Drago and his dreams for conquest and power, his drive to control and dominate. That one over there in that cave—he's lost an entire wing and arm. He hides in those caves because he can't bear to see the sky and remember what he's missing and can never do again. I offered to try and build him a new wing but he avoids me and everybody else."

He gestured to other dragons. "She's blind. In the wild she'd be dead in days. He's had his claws pulled out one at a time—a form of punishment. He's lost his tail in the snare that caught him. She had her horns cut off and used for arrowheads, and then her wings were cut off as punishment and used for leather padding. That one over there…he had all of his teeth pulled out. A lot of the dragons down here have similar injuries, and worse. And then there are those dragons over there."

He pointed to another group of dragons on the far side of the lake. They were all just standing there idly, as if they had nothing to do while they waited for something to happen.

"What are they doing?" Astrid asked carefully.

"What they usually do—unless they're throwing fits for reasons we can't fathom. They're the ones who survived Drago's treatment only physically," he said sadly, "but the mental toll it took on them is irreversible."

"Why?" Astrid asked, "Why does he do such things?" She could not imagine really harming anyone on Berk. Sure, she beat up Snotlout and Dogsbreath now and then, but only when provoked, and she would never go as far as this.

"He bullies and beats them until they're obedient and broken. He makes himself in charge of them, and a lot of the ones that resisted most are before you." She could not see it but he had tears in his eyes. "And I can't do a thing about this. I can rescue them and I can try and put an end to Drago's efforts, but I cannot change what he has already done. Just look at them, Astrid! They'll never soar through the sky again, never play with their hatchlings, some will never see again or hear anything again, some can't even walk anymore and some…" he turned away and sat down. "Some don't even know it because their minds are unhinged after all Drago's done to them. I sometimes wonder if they're better off that way."

They watched in silence for a few minutes, and his words really struck her. This was like wandering around the village after a raid and looking at the injured, the dead, the destroyed homes and lives, and watching the smoke rise over the burning bodies and structures and feeling helpless. She imagined he got the same feeling in his heart while watching these dragons.

She wanted to get the subject changed a little. "So what is he doing out here? You said he was a Slav. Why is he in Viking territory?"

"Viking territory? That amounts to a place where a few tribes on scattered islands share a similar culture and still fight over it. There's no real unity between tribes and you know it. That makes them easy pickings for conquest. You heard Gort at the gathering of Chiefs. He wanted a coalition, and the other chiefs blew him off. Then there's the strategic reason. Because each tribe is on a different island, Drago could pounce anywhere he pleased and any intervention would be days away at the very least. Imagine the Bog Burglars were attacked and called for aid. You'd first have to get this news, and news is hopelessly slow and unreliable by sea. Then you'd have to prepare and then sail to their island. By that time, Drago's dragons could have reduced it to cinders, then flown away somewhere or wait to ambush you. You get the picture?"

"Clearly."

"That's what he was going to do, I imagine, but we got in the way and he decided to finish us off first. He'd give his false arm to get his real hand on the dragons here. We focused on freeing captured dragons, harassing his supply lines, and crippling his war machines. It drove him mad, I can tell you that. I remember the very first raid we did, against the dragon trapping ship _Fjord_."

"We don't kill," he added for Astrid looked at him questioningly, "no, we'd usually slip into the fort or ship and free every dragon. If confronted we'd give any humans the chance to stand down hold them hostage until we left. Then we decided to raid his Headquarters, Fort Fractured Skull. Ever heard of it? It's no reflection on you if you haven't, because the place doesn't exist anymore. We gave the soldiers a warning first and half of them ran off before Toothless fired his first plasma blast; so much for loyalty. As for the dragons, nearly all of them deserted Drago as soon as they could. Drago had to run for it, and—yes—he got away from us. So we destroyed Fractured Skull entirety. If you ever went to that island, you'd never know a fort had stood upon it."

"And now he's back?"

"Yes."

" **He won't escape this time**." Toothless growled.

"But don't worry Astrid; we'll take care of it." He pointed across the lake. "For their sake if for no other reason, we will take care of it."

"Do you want Berk's help?"

"That would be nice, but I think we'll make do. Besides, would Berk actually provide us with help?"

Astrid couldn't answer that, though she wanted to. Instead she asked, "Why are you telling me this? You do remember what I warned you about not saying too much, don't you?"

"What could you possibly do with this information? Besides, I know for a fact you won't use it against me because Stoick would never side with Bludvist, no matter how much he hates dragons."

"What makes you say that?" Astrid asked in surprise.

"Hasn't Stoick ever told you about the night he met Drago?" The answer was in the negative. "Well, I'm not the person to tell you about it, but I'll say this much: if Stoick sided with Drago after what happened that night, then he is the most forgiving, the most selfish, or the most stupid Chief who has ever lived. And I don't believe he's any of those."

They spent the rest of the day discussing the terms from Stoick. The King refused to answer the First point, which dealt with the location of the Sanctuary. The Second point, which asked to explain what he meant by 'nobody is allowed to kill dragons' he answered with "Save in self-defense, nobody kills dragons. It's as simple as that." For the Third, which asked for further details on integrating dragons with Vikings, he said he would answer that in full by talking to Stoick personally and only if Stoick agreed to his terms for peace, but gave a short answer of "dragons and Vikings living and working together in peace and unity. In short, you'll get new villagers, and they'll be dragons." As for the Fourth point, which asked for more information about him, he decided Astrid could pass on to the Chief what she already knew about him. She made a mental note to not obey that suggestion entirely.

"Does that cover everything?" He asked wearily. The questions themselves had been easy to answer, but Astrid had been taking notes and asking scores of questions, which had greatly lengthened the interview. "The sun set a long time ago. And Toothless has fallen asleep again. Lazy overgrown salamander."

"No, I think that's everything for now."

"Oh, 'for _now_ ,'" He groaned, "do you plan to think up more questions in your sleep and ask me tomorrow?"

"Speaking of which, how am I getting back tomorrow?"

"Oh great, she's already asked me another question and it hasn't even been a minute." He put his hands on his masked head. "Spare me, please!"

"Only after you answer this one," she replied with an evil grin.

"Ugh. Stormfly has offered to take you, only this time you'll be on her back."

"You're…going to have me ride…a dragon?"

"Would you rather swim?"

Astrid decided it would be wiser not to press the matter. In fact, the idea sounded a bit appealing to her.

"Astrid?"

"Hmm?"

"I know you've been opposed to it when I've suggested it, but there's no other way to get you back to Berk. You must have realized that."

"Yes, I suspected it,"

"You'll be perfectly safe; much safer than you would be in a boat. So," the King said nonchalantly, "what will you do when you get back?"

"Oh now you're asking _me_ questions!"

"Yes I am." He replied proudly.

She laughed and shrugged, "probably what I was doing before I came here. Training recruits, helping out wherever I can, practicing my fighting skills, learning how to be a chief…"

"I hope you get that position."

She smiled. "I'm glad to hear it." She bit back the question 'wasn't it supposed to be his?'

"Of course, given how the other choice is Snotlout, it's a bit of a no-brainer." He added dryly.

"True." But was there not a third option? He did not seem to be too bad of a choice, now that she thought of it.

"Anything else you've got planned for yourself?"

"I think that's enough, don't you?" Astrid laughed again.

"Got any plans with your friends?"

Astrid stopped laughing at this.

"What did I say?" The King asked, "You do have friends, right?"

"I—well—err—look, being Chief is going to be a big responsibility; I need to be ready for it. My family's honor and reputation will be on the line. I don't want to let anyone down." As she spoke she wondered which of them she was trying to convince more. "You know about my Uncle Finn, right? I've heard lots of people talking about my Uncle Finn being a coward, and since they say he was a coward, that means all Hofferson's are cowards, and I've gotta prove them wrong."

"I know what you mean. Why is it when one person does something the entire family gets blamed for it? One man gets caught plotting against the Emperor and then everyone he's even remotely connected to gets exiled or executed for it; that's just wrong."

Astrid sighed. "I've never believed my Uncle was a coward. I just wish there was a way I could prove them wrong about it once and for all!" She looked at him, then suddenly picked up her charcoal pencil and threw it at the wall while shouting "And is Snotlout's family any better? You've got Snotlout, a jerk if there ever was one, the most pathetic excuse for a man this side of Valhalla, and the most self center muttonhead since—since—"

"Narcissus? He tried to kiss his own reflection."

"Sure! Then there's his father, now there's a nice guy to have around, he's more stuck up than a pig over a fire pit! I mean, they mock Uncle Finn, but what have _they_ ever done?" She had been storming around as she shouted. Now she calmed down. "Of course, you've also got Stoick the Chief, whom nobody could accuse of being a coward or a rotten warrior. But I sometimes wonder if he focuses too much on Hiccup and his wife."

"Oh Hiccup had a wife? I didn't know that."

"No, I mean the Chief's wife! Stoick's wife! I know he thinks a lot about her, even though she's been dead for over 20 years!"

"Maybe he just likes to remember the past. A lot of people do," suggested the King.

"Yes, those days when he had big plans for Berk's greatness which never happened? I heard my parents talking about them a few weeks back. He wanted to make Berk the greatest place in the world when he was young. Then he found it a big enough job just maintaining it as it was." She had calmed down completely now. "I wonder if I'm the same; with big plans that'll get crushed once I actually get to work on them."

"If you've got the will, the time, and the resources, you can do it. I know you've got the willpower."

"You seem to be doing pretty well yourself out here."

"Well thank you. I try,"

"You know, I've been thinking about the past too, recently. And there's one thing that's been on my mind a lot," she went on, ignoring him, "it's about Hiccup—"

The King shifted his weight slightly. "What about him?"

"Well, you say that Toothless did not take him, which implies he's alive…"

"Does it?"

"Well, it just doesn't make any sense to me. If Toothless did not carry him off, than where is he?"

"Why do you keep bringing Toothless into this?

"Because who else could it have been? We _know_ a black dragon, with an injured tail was in the same spot as Hiccup was right before he disappeared, and…" she gestured to Toothless's tail fin. "Well, what else can the Chief think?"

"I don't know."

"I just wish I could make things up to him, if he was still alive. If he was, I hope he'd found happiness at last." She turned to leave. "I let a friend down by abandoning him, and after all these years and having lots of time to think about it…if there was a way to make it up to him, I'd take it—regardless of what you might think. If Hiccup was still alive and happy, I would not take that away from him."

Astrid walked back to her room fully convinced of what she would do now. The King watched her go very thoughtfully.

After a moment he called after her. "Astird?"

She came back slowly. "Yes?"

"About Hiccup…did you mean that?"

"Every word,"

"Then tell the Chief this: technically, Toothless did carry him off. We were…visiting Berk one day—searching for imprisoned dragons and all that—and we stumbled upon him in the woods. He was really miserable and wanted to leave Berk, so we ultimately gave him a lift to France. I don't know where he's gone since then. He made me swear not to tell anyone, but I guess 8 years is long enough."

Astrid nodded seriously. "I'll tell the Chief. Anything else?"

"He was really happy the last time I saw him. And I imagine he still is very happy wherever he's living right now. And he said he hoped that his father won't try to avenge him."

Astrid nodded and left again.

Toothless opened his eyes.

" **Nice story. But** _ **is**_ **he really happy**?"

" **Yes he is, Bud…except for when She-Vikings come to visit, and then he goes from being incredibly happy to being miserably confused. But maybe that'll comfort Stoick a little bit.** " He had been tinkering with that lie all week, trying to decide how much he should tell or should he tell it at all? He decided to then because the way Astrid was acting made him suspicious, but she also drove a point home to him. Stoick would always believe Toothless had killed his son because he could not imagine any other explanation. So he would give him one and hope Stoick would believe it.

" **Or it might make him wildly desperate for more information** ,"

" **What can I do, Bud? It's his own fault if he's become obsessed with revenge! Honestly, if he had thought more about his living son than his dead wife, none of this might have happened**!"

" **Maybe. So what happens now?"**

" **Tomorrow Astrid will go back to Berk,"** He said heavily. " **She'll tell Stoick this news and we'll see how he takes it. Hopefully he won't blame us for Hiccup's disappearance anyway**." He wanted to rub his eyes but his mask was still on. " **Man, this situation gets more and more complex every day! First the confused feelings for Astrid, then Drago comes back into the picture, and now this! I almost think we should tell the truth now, except I know it is way too risky at the moment! No, no, we've first gotta see how Berk copes with Astrid's return."**

" **Were you aware of that temper of hers when you fell in love with her**?" Toothless asked after a while. " **I'm not sure I want you to mate with her if she's always like that. It'll keep me up all night**."

" **Keep** _ **you**_ **up all night**?" The King laughed, " **Do you need your beauty sleep that much**?"

" **Not at all**." Toothless replied proudly, " **I've got enough good looks for the both of us, and a good thing too. I'm just saying if you do become her mate, I want my own room**."

" **Right, I'll put that in marriage contract. 'Toothless gets his own room.' Do you want a private bathtub to go with it**?"

" **BATHTUB!** "

" **We'd probably need one anyway, given how much of a mess you make on bath day**."

Toothless put his paws over his ears. " **Don't say it, don't say it**!"

" **Don't say what? Bath Day**?"

" **AUGH!** "

" **Are you just behaving this way to make me feel better**?"

" **Pretty much. Is it working**?"

" **A little** ," he petted the dragon's head, " **thanks, Bud."**

" **You know, we never did take her flying,"**

" **I was planning to, but circumstances go in the way. It's too dark outside to take her flying now: she wouldn't see very much. No, her first proper flight has to be something special…"**

Astrid was woken up by Midnight at a very early hour the following morning. She ate her breakfast groggily and shuffled her way to the Main Hall. The King, Night Fury, and Nadder were waiting.

"So," she said, "I guess this is goodbye?"

"Yeah," The King said gruffly. She then noticed he was holding a long piece of yellow cloth.

"What's that for?"

"You."

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry, Astrid, but we're going to have to blindfold you, and you are _not_ to take it off until Stormfly makes this sound." He nodded to the Nadder, who at once made a shrill whistling sound. "We've got to keep this location secret, you know that."

"You still don't trust me?" She raised her eyebrows. "Do you trust anybody with anything?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Perhaps too much. But in this case, what you don't know won't hurt you," he replied, "I know you're going to object, but remember what I told you earlier. Knowing the location of this island would get you killed—after Drago Bludvist tortured it out of you."

"A true Viking never cracks under torture."

"Sorry, Astrid, but I'm not taking chances in this matter." He handed her the blindfold. "Until it's firmly covering your eyes, you are not leaving."

Astrid reluctantly took the piece of cloth and, with even more reluctance went over to Stormfly. A stool had been provided but she kicked it aside and climbed up onto the dragons back without assistance.

"Is this good enough for you?" she growled when she'd put the blindfold on.

"Yeah…well, goodbye Astrid," he was about to give a command to the Nadder when he paused. "Astrid, about all this evasiveness…I'm really sorry,"

"I should hope so." She wasn't in the mood for apologies right now.

"I've been battling with myself all week. Heck, I've been battling with myself ever since I found out that you were coming here. I wish I could tell you everything…but I can't right now."

Astrid turned her head in his direction. "If I persuaded my Chief to accept dragons, could you then?"

"I hope so, except…" Except she was not the only person he was hiding things from.

"You know what? Keep your secrets."

" **You watch your mouth** ," Toothless growled.

" **Quiet, Bud**. Astrid, are you saying you might reconsider Berk's opinion of dragons?"

"I might be,"

"That's…that's very good news and I'm glad to hear it. And in return, I'm not going to tell you everything now, but I will tell you this: when you get back, you might want to ask the Twins how much money they fired into the ocean, then ask Spitelout how much money was taken, and then ask Snotlout if his 'friends' will stand by him the next time he runs out of money."

Astrid was intrigued and wished she could see him. "What are you implying?"

"You'll find out when you get back. And one more thing. If you have any desire to communicate with me, leave letters out on the statue of Hiccup the First in the Village center. The Terrors will find them—though I'd appreciate it if you kept that between us for now. Oh, yes, and…sorry, one more thing again. It's about your Uncle Finn. He wasn't frozen by fear. The Flightmare sprays a kind of venom at its prey. Completely paralyzes it instantly. Your Uncle was frozen by the venom, not by fear. The Hoffersons have nothing to be ashamed of. Tell your people that. If they don't believe you, I happen to know a Flightmare that would be happy to freeze some of them for a demonstration."

Before she could respond to this the King made a growl and Stormfly ran off down the tunnel.

Riding blindfolded on the back of a running dragon is a terrifying experience by any standards. Astrid clenched her reigns so tightly her knuckles were white—not that she actually saw it, of course. The wind whipped around her face so much that she couldn't even open her mouth to scream: as soon as she did the wind blew all of her breath away.

And then the dragon reached the end of the tunnel and took off into the air. Without warning it began spinning and now Astrid really did scream.

"THOR ALMIGHTY, GET ME OFF THIS THING!" She instantly regretted opening her mouth, as she suddenly began to feel nauseous. Meanwhile the dragon kept spinning around and around and around and around and around and…

And then it stopped. Stormfly had spread her wings and was now gliding. As Astrid's stomach began to move back to its usual place and her heart rate began to slow down, she heard the shrieking call from the Nadder and carefully removed her blindfold.

The sun was so bright that at first she had to squint. As her eyes adjusted she realized they were flying amidst in a sea of clouds. Large, fleecy, and bright magenta cloud forms drifting lazily across an endless ocean of a golden tinged sky. Far below her the real ocean was nothing more than a deep blue sheet with faint white lines here and there. As the sun grew higher in the sky its warm rays poked through new gaps in the masses of cloud vapors, turning the magenta into a bright and vivid pink. Tentatively Astrid raised a hand and touched the cloud above her. It felt as though she was touching a mist. It also made her hand wet, though she paid that no mind. The implications of what she had just done suddenly hit her. _She was touching the clouds_. Once again she was doing something no Viking in existence had ever done before.

She looked around her once again and understood what the King had meant by his sunset dinner speech. She could go anywhere on Stormfly. They could fly over the clouds, touch the tallest mountains, fly down over the ocean, or go to places nobody had ever gone before. All anger at the King keeping secrets had vanished; any frustrations he had caused her were forgotten. She couldn't be angry with anyone right now, not even Snotlout or Dogsbreath, and she held the Dragon King in much higher regard then those two. She pushed such thoughts out of her mind. Now was not the time for them. The world was opened to her as it had never been before, and in realizing this she laughed excitedly.

"This is amazing!" She cried, "Let's never stop! Come on, Stormfly, let's touch the sun!" Knowing partly of what that effort would require, Stormfly sensibly didn't listen to her.

They passed over some islands, appearing to be little more than small green boulders from that height. Ships, which Stormfly took a particular care to stay away from, were merely toy boats in a gigantic pond; the people on them were little bigger in stature than ants. The wind began to softly blow, further messing up Astrid's hair without her realizing it, so engrossed was she in what she was seeing. For Stormfly, beautiful as the day was, there was little to distinguish this flight from others aside from having to carry Astrid, but she had been instructed by Toothless to make it a slow and scenic trip, and she was happy to oblige.

How long they spent flying, Astrid did not know nor care, but at length they began to drop in altitude and Astrid saw a village before them that she recognized at Berk. From the height they were at she thought she was looking at a miniature village of doll houses, carved by some ingenious toymaker. Stormfly did not go to the village itself, but headed towards one of the coves. Astrid guessed that Stormfly was trying to avoid coming in contact with Berk's villagers, and the thought made her sad. She would have liked nothing better than to land in the middle of the town square and casually hop off the Nadder's back while the rest of the population gaped at her, but she acknowledged flying near a village full of dragon killers could be dangerous.

At last Stormfly picked a cliff and went in for a landing. Astrid was very reluctant to get off. She wanted more. She felt that she had only scratched the surface of something incredible, and she wanted to keep going. Even worse, she had no idea of when or if she'd ever get another chance to fly with a dragon, and now it seemed that her first flight was too short. She couldn't help but feel envious of the King now. Still, she had duties to her family and the Chief, she reminded herself. Not mollified, but reconciled to the inevitable, she slowly got off of the Nadder.

"That was amazing," she told the dragon, "you're amazing too. Thank you."

The Nadder suddenly nuzzled her and Astrid put a hand on its beaklike nose and stroked it. It took some time before they were willing to separate, but Stormfly finally turned away and took off into the air. Astrid watched until the dragon was out of sight.

"What a ride," she said fervently.


	11. Chapter 11

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 11**

 **A Lot to Talk and Think About**

With each step through the woods she came closer to returning home. A sense of excitement grew inside of her at the thought of coming home and seeing her family again. As she got closer things she'd largely forgotten about during the week began to return to her. There were the issues of the Chiefdom, Snotlout's flirting, Dogsbreath and Hognose, who would doubtless want revenge after what she'd done to Dogsbreath, there would be more training her recruits, as well as dealing with this Dragon King debate and what she—and Berk—were going to do with all that he had shown to her. It felt funny how she had so easily forgotten about most of these things during her absence. It was as if she had taken a holiday and now had to return to the real world. Once again she almost envied the King. At least he didn't have to deal with a bunch of jerks all the time. She mulled over his parting words about Snotlout and her Uncle. If the first was true, things were going to be very interesting when the Chief and his brother found out. If the second was true, and accepted as the truth, that meant her family and Finn's name would be cleared. She'd always desired to be the one to clear that particular stain, but she had never imagined she would do it like this.

She entered the village casually. Most of the people were going about their daily chores, so it was several minutes before anybody noticed her. Then all of sudden Ruffnut Thorsten cried "it's Astrid!" and the next thing she knew she was surrounded by a horde of curious Vikings hungry for information. As was usual when this kind of thing happened, all of them were asking questions at the same time. Moments later her mother shoved her way through the throng and flung her arms around the girl.

"Thank Odin, thank Odin you're safe,"

"Easy Mom," laughed Astrid, "I'm perfectly fine!"

"He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I just said I'm fine, Mom!"

At that point her father arrived on the scene. "I knew you'd come back safely!" he laughed, "there's nothing in the world that can hurt my daughter! Come here, you!" he pulled Astrid from her mother's clutches and gave her a fierce bear hug. "Welcome back! Did you miss us?"

"Some of you," Astrid replied, with a sidelong glance at Snotlout, who had managed to shove his way through the crowd.

"Hey babe! I am so glad you're back! Berk was a lot uglier without your gorgeous body!" He shouted over the crowd, which was still asking indiscernible questions.

"I'm sure you compensated for it, Snotface,"

"Yes, I did, in fact I—wait what?"

She spotted Fishlegs in the back of the crowd, who gave a friendly wave. Next to him were Chief and Gobber the Blacksmith, who were beaming at her. Stoick then stepped forward into the crowd.

"All right, everyone, give the lass some air! Back off a little bit. That's better. Let her get some space. Good to see you back, Lass! You're a bit earlier than I was expecting, but no matter. I imagine we have a lot to discuss."

"Oh, we do, Chief" Astrid assured him. "We certainly do."

"But that can wait a little bit. Let us through!" Stoick waved his hands and the crowd began to slowly part, allowing the Chief and the Hoffersons to pass. "You go on home, unpack, and get a little rest. We will all gather in Mead Hall for lunch and after the meal you can tell us everything. Afterwards," he softened his voice so only the Hoffersons could hear "we'll discuss things privately."

"So," Astrid said as she sat at the table and tried the soup her mom had made for her. "How was your expedition, Dad? Did you find the nest and all that?"

"Oh we found it, all right. Actually, we only got back 2 days ago." He told her how they had navigated through a tight and foggy series of passages which on three separate occasions nearly caused the ship to flounder, before they made it to a large extinct volcano. "We found it just as the lad had told us. A nest of Smothering Smokebreaths, hence the fog, and a big pile of the largest bones I've ever seen. You'll see one yourself: we brought back a claw and it's as big as a man! The skull of the beast was huge! Bigger than a dozen Gronkles! How that lad brought down such a monster is beyond me! The rest of the island was mostly just gray rocks and sand: not very interesting to look at, but there was evidence that a huge explosion had taken place there recently. It was probably the explosion that killed that monster."

"The Red Death,"

"Well it wasn't red anymore, but the word 'Death' seems a fitting name." He shook his head, "And to think, we finally reached the nest we've been after for centuries, and only then do we realize that it was better that we hadn't found it! Can you imagine us taking on that creature? Of course you can't, you don't know what it looks like, but still—the point is, if we had found that nest before that Dragon lad did, I don't think anyone of us would have lived to tell the tale."

Astrid swallowed nervously.

"One side of the volcano had collapsed. Inside was an empty cave. That's where the dragons lived, but our trackers guessed it had been abandoned for years."

"I think the King mentioned the dragons had left it as soon as the Red Death was dead."

"I know. All that we saw confirmed his story." He shook his head. "So what happens now, I wonder? The nest is destroyed, the dragons aren't raiding—"

"And our family name isn't disgraced anymore!" Astrid interrupted. She quickly told them about the Flightmare. As soon as she was done Olaf excused himself and left the room.

"He needs to think a little," Greta said softly, "he and Finn were very close." Astrid went back to her soup, which she had neglected while Olaf had been talking.

"Do you think there's a need to kill dragons anymore?" She suddenly asked. Her mother's smile faded.

"Do you?"

"After what Dad just said, and after all I've seen, I don't see a good reason for it anymore. We've got what we want, don't we? If the raids are done and the nest if abandoned and Uncle Finn is vindicated—"

"But those aren't the only reasons people here have for killing dragons, Astrid. People like Mildew and Spitelout will still want to kill them for fun, and I doubt the Chief has given up on his hope for vengeance. But still…one never knows."

"No we don't…so, what's happened here while I was gone?"

"Nothing much to speak of. The twins blew up a boat, but they didn't steal anything this time!"

"Actually, about that…" Astrid explained the King's parting words. When she had finished her mother looked stunned.

"Is he suggesting that Snotlout robbed his own father, bribed people to not be disruptive while he was Acting-Chief, and then put the blame on the Thorsten Twins?"

"I believe he is,"

Olaf had silently come back into the room when she had been explaining, and now he could barely contain his excitement. "Do you realize what would happen if we could somehow prove this? Astrid, if we could…there would be nothing that could stop you from becoming Stoick's heir!" He grabbed his daughter and hugged her. "I'm starting to like this Dragon King! He saves us from raids, redeems my brother, and now gives me the means to make my daughter the next Chief of Berk!"

"Olaf, don't you think you're moving a bit fast?" asked Greta, "We need a way to prove these things first."

"And we will! After the tribal meeting—and speaking of which—"

"Actually, Dad, it's not for a few hours."

"Oh, right…"

Astrid specifically asked that she not be interrupted during her talk at Mead Hall. This request was complied with for less than five minutes, with most of the interruptions being simply repeats of what she had just said.

"He gave us the wrong location!"

"You were carried there by a dragon?"

"Dragons can sing?"

"Awesome!" The Twins occasionally chimed in, such as when she described the Timberjack Evictus. Because of all the people interrupting a story that was already very long, the meeting in Mead Hall lasted all afternoon, and by the end of it Astrid's throat was very dry and she had a headache. Retelling her meetings with the Dragon King and the subsequent questions that came with it were particularly tiresome. She brightened up when she came to the part about her flight home, but most of the others had a less than enthusiastic reaction. Even the Twins seemed less interested in her description of what she saw, though this was likely because it did not involve explosions. When she'd finished at last she glanced around the room at the people she knew best. Her parents looked intrigued, Fishlegs was fascinated, the Twins were clearly calculating how to use the new information for destruction, Snotlout looked bored, and the Chief was looking, well, stoic. He was clearly deep in thought, and it was some time before he spoke, which broke the silence that had fallen.

"Thank you, Astrid. It was a very brave thing you did to go to this place, and we are all very relieved that you came back safe. I don't think anyone could have done a better job. Now, I was planning to have a discussion about all of this after you were done, but I think we could all have dinner first, what do ya all say to that?" A loud cheer went up and everyone held up their knives and plates. Of course, no dinner had been prepared yet, so they had to wait while the cooks got things ready. Thankfully, there was a lot to talk about to pass the time.

Astrid went down to join her parents, when she suddenly found Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorsten sitting next to her.

"So tell us about the Dragon King! Does he blow up stuff?"

"Does he set stuff on fire on a regular basis?"

"Is he hot?" Ruffnut asked in a dreamy voice, "it sounds like he is. He must be so lonely, being the only human on an island…I'll be he'd love some female company, wouldn't you?"

Astrid did her best not to react to this. She had intentionally left out anything that might sound romantic when telling her story—or the conversations that had dealt with Hiccup.

"Aw come on," Tuffnut snorted, "if he spent a week and didn't put the moves on _Astrid_ , he wouldn't show any interest in _you_ , Dungbrain!"

"Aw shut up, you pile of overused—"

"Say guys," Astrid interrupted, "I've been wondering something. You know how you guys shot Spitelout's money into the harbor?"

"Ohhhh yeah!"

"That was awesome!"

"Just out of curiosity, how much was in the bag?"

"Not enough, I can tell you." Tuffnut groaned.

"Yeah, if we'd had 200 pieces instead of 100, imagine how much bigger the splash would have been!"

"A hundred times bigger!"

"That's not how it works, dummy!"

"It isn't?"

"No."

"You made that up!" He jumped onto his sister and they began wrestling around on the floor. Just another typical meal in Mead Hall.

"You fired 100 pieces?" Astrid called to them.

"Yeah, why?" Ruffnut shouted back as she punched her brother in the nose, making him groan with satisfaction.

"No reason," She already had what she needed to know. All that was left was to inform the Chief about it. Snotlout was ruined. Speaking of which, he came over to her.

"Hey babe! Mind if I join you?"

"Yes."

"Glad to hear it!" He said, sitting down anyway. She groaned, hoping he might get the hint this time. "Babe, I've been thinking, maybe you'd like to consider going out with me! It would be useful to both parties," he added with a not so cryptic wink.

"I highly doubt it." Astrid smirked. Little did he know!

"Oh come on, babe, we'll find a way to make it work out!"

"But I don't _want_ it to work out!" Astrid shouted as she stood up and joined her parents. Before she could get there she ran into Gustav Larson. More correctly he walked right into her, probably on purpose. He was a boy a few years younger than her, and like Snotlout, he had a huge crush on her. Thankfully, Gustav was often helping out his overbearing mother around the house, so she had little interaction with him these days, except on nights like this.

"Astrid!" he said dreamily. "I really missed you! Did you miss me? I'll bet you did!"

"Not really, Gustav, now could you please move?" She actually had not thought of him at all during her absence.

"But Astrid, I was thinking we could—"

"Maybe later," she slipped around him and hustled over to her parents table.

"She said 'later'!" Gustav said dreamily, "it's beginning at last!"

'Men,' she thought scathingly. 'Show them a pretty face and they're instantly a bunch of fools.' While at the Sanctuary the King had told her a bit about the Trojan War, and she remembered feeling contemptuous how it had all begun as a fight over a beautiful woman, and how at one point the Greeks nearly fell apart because their greatest warrior and one king had quarreled over who got a captive woman.

Dinner was then announced and the Twins at once broke apart and rushed to fill their plates. Astrid decided to wait for the crowd to get smaller. While she watched she spotted Dogsbreath and Hognose. They returned her gaze with nasty expressions, clearly saying they hadn't forgotten what she had done to Dogsbreath. 'Bring it on,' she thought. She decided to wait to bring up Snotlout's bribery until she could talk with Stoick in private. Much as she might enjoy seeing Snotlout humiliated in public, she was aware she had no solid proof and felt there was less risk of embarrassing herself with a smaller audience. Besides, Stoick would not appreciate such a disgrace to become public knowledge. Even so, the knowledge of it made her rather smug.

The dinner passed and the discussion began, which amounted to little more than what had already been discussed many times before: what did people make of this Dragon King and what should they do about him? It went all over the place. Men like Mildew and Spitelout were in favor of finding his island and destroying it and everything on it. Fishlegs offered to serve as ambassador should Stoick desire to send one a second time. Astrid's revelation about the true reason for the death of Fearless Finn was met with skepticism from those who already sneered at his death and by relief by those who had defended them. The terms the King had proposed were discussed in minute detail, as if every single word had a hundred different meanings and each one had to be analyzed. The question of integration was raised, but the rejection of it was almost unanimous. Even those who believed what the King had said about China, and many did not, agreed that what worked for the Chinese did not mean it would work for Vikings. While not everyone on Berk necessarily hated dragons or enjoyed killing them to the degree that Mildew did, most had no real liking for dragons either. A lifetime war, destruction of personal property, and loss of loved ones will do that to people. They might be willing to stop the fighting, provided the dragons did so first, but _living_ with them was out of the question. And yet, Astrid hoped the seed of the idea had been planted.

Nobody except Stoick, Gobber, and Fishlegs expressed much interest in the subject of Hiccup. This surprised Astrid, though in retrospect it should not have done so. After all, it had once been said 'no one will miss the little nuisance,' and it was not far from the truth. Among the three, Stoick seemed more interested in the Night Fury and its abilities, though he did question Astrid at length about what the King seemed capable of. She told him what the King had said about Hiccup, but he did not question her any further on the matter. Astrid nearly slipped up a few times during this as she tried to defend Toothless, but thankfully Stoick had not seemed to notice.

The discussions had shifted to how they could find out more about the King, especially without him realizing it, when Greta suddenly thought of something.

"Are we sure what we're saying is not being overheard?"

Everyone at once started looking around for any sign of a dragon hiding somewhere. Nothing was found, but the remainder of the talk was conducted a great deal more discretely. There was little else to discuss without going in repetitive circles anyway, so within half an hour Stoick decided it was time to adjourn. It was well into the night by this point, and the villagers were relieved to call it a day.

"I'd like Spitelout, Olaf, and Gobber to stay, however," Stoick said before anyone had left. "It won't be long."

"Don't you want Snotlout to stay too?" Spitelout asked at once.

"And Astrid?" Olaf added promptly.

"Astrid has done enough today. Let the lass get some rest," Stoick responded gently, "As for Snotlout, I don't see a reason to keep him here either."

Snotlout yawned, "Fine by me. I'm tired!" Without giving anyone a second glance he walked out of the hall, and was soon followed by everyone else.

Stoick pulled out a sheet of parchment and began writing on it. When he was done he showed it to the other three.

' _I never heard anyone mention that dragons can read. So from now on, to avoid eavesdropping, we will write messages out when needed.'_

They nodded in understanding. Stoick wrote on. Each man read the parchment again and swallowed.

Stoick looked determined. "I want peace as much as anyone and I want Berk to be powerful again. Do you agree with my idea?"

One said yes, one was uneasy about it, and the third said no. They wrote their reasons on the parchment.

' _We can't do this. Not only is it disgraceful, but if it fails it could bring about the end of Berk!'_

' _If we do this, we can end the threat of dragons forever and we become the most powerful tribe in the Archipelago! For peace and glory it must be done!'_

' _On the one hand, I feel I owe the Dragon King for what he has done for my family, which may cloud my judgment. At the same time, this could be a great benefit to the island. I will go with what is decided, of course, but Stoick: this MUST be done with care and seriousness. Failure could be disastrous, and we won't get another chance at it.'_

Stoick read these and wrote in response: _'I feel determined to go along with this. But you are right we must do it with care and discretion. It will take some time to get things prepared. I trust you all understand that this must stay between the four of us. If anyone asks, tell them we merely discussed sending another ambassador to the King and decided against it.'_

The three men nodded uneasily.

"Thank you for looking over my letter," Stoick said casually, and a little loudly, "goodnight gentlemen."

Gobber limped back with Olaf to the Hofferson household. When Olaf asked him what was up, Gobber replied he wanted to talk to Astrid about Hiccup.

"What about Hiccup?" Astrid asked wearily. She had been just about ready to go to bed.

"Lass, kin ya tell me the King's words 'bout him x-zactly?" She did so and he nodded, looking very relieved.

"So 'e ran away, did 'e? Can't say ah blame 'im. But why then, ah wonder? Do ya know if 'e's still alive?"

"The King said he has not seen him in 8 years." Astrid said evasively.

"Astrid, are you all right?" Greta asked, "You look a little pale,"

"I'm fine mom, just a bit tired. It's been a _very_ long day."

"That it has, and a very eventful one too," Olaf said gently, "Get some sleep, lass. Now, Gobber, is there anything else you wanted to know?"

"No," Gobber said sadly, "if she knows nothin' more 'bout 'Iccup. I was hopin', after what ya said about 'im earlier, that maybe…well, it don't matter now." He trudged away in a dejected state.

Astrid felt a pang in her heart. She knew how fond the old Blacksmith had always been of Hiccup. Sometimes she suspected the boy was more like Gobber's son than Stoick's. She felt a strong urge to tell him the truth. Surely Gobber would understand.

But Astrid was learning that in most situations staying silent and doing nothing is an easy thing to do. And she did it.

Stoick walked back to his own home and once inside he sat down and thought about all that had happened that day. It was quite a lot to take in.

First there was the concern with Drago Bludvist. He remembered that one night all too clearly. He had gathered with a number of Viking Chiefs to discuss trade and dragons, and that man Bludvist had come. Rather like the Dragon King, he had informed them he had the solution to the dragon problem. Unlike the Dragon King, however, he had told them he would only help them if they would agree to serve him. They had laughed and refused. As soon as Drago had left, dragons attacked them. As far as he knew, he Stoick had been the sole survivor of the attack.

The effects of this attack lasted for years afterwards. Nearly a dozen Viking tribes were suddenly leaderless, which had created multiple power struggles. Powerful and ambitious Vikings fought to become Chief, had broken away from their tribes to form new ones, or moved to try and take over other tribes. Berk had been lucky and had dodged this crisis, but the dragon raids had continued all the while. Drago had disappeared after the attack, and Stoick had heard almost nothing more of him until now. He had been more preoccupied with running his own island; events taking place in other parts of the world had been of little interest to him if they had no impact on Berk.

But now he had news. And what was he going to do about it? He decided for the moment he would look after his own island. The Dragon King had said he would take care of Drago, so he would let him. Maybe the King was good for something after all.

His thoughts turned to Astrid. He had noticed how excited she looked when she was described the island and the flight. The King and his dragons had obviously gotten to her. He hoped she would snap out of it now that she was back on Berk. He did not approve of it, and yet he felt he had to just deal with it for now, mostly because, as her father had constantly reminded him, she was still the best choice to be the next Chief.

Now that he thought of successors, he glanced towards the stairs that led to Hiccup's room. He had not set foot in that room since Hiccup's death. Yes, death. He did not believe what the King had told him. He saw that as a lie designed to defend the Night Fury. He felt this way for one simple reason: he refused to believe that Hiccup would willingly leave Berk. Why would he, when he had gone from being the worst Viking in history to placing first in Dragon Training? Maybe if he had placed last he would have run off, but why would Hiccup leave right when he had at last become popular, liked, and respected? What kind of kid ran away when they were at last the center of attention for a good reason?

It made sense to him, at any rate. Perhaps he was only making these reasons up because he still hated dragons and wanted any excuse to continue doing so. And if the King's story was true, he still felt hatred in his heart for that Night Fury taking his son away from him. As for the request from Hiccup to not avenge him, that was completely forgotten by Stoick.

Yet in his bitter desire for revenge he suddenly remembered his old saying 'A Chief protects his own.' How was his hate protecting his village? It was one thing to hate dragons for personal reasons, but he should not bring his entire tribe into this also. No, no, if he was going to be this way, he had to turn his hate into something that would benefit the village, not himself. His mind went back to the plan he had proposed less than an hour ago and nodded to himself. If the plan worked, he would be able to get his revenge and provide security for Berk—at least in his way of thinking he would. And would that not benefit his village? Would he not be ensuring a way to prevent more deaths from dragons and more losses. If he succeeded, he felt certain he would.

But if it went wrong?

He soothed his troubled mind by insisting that it would not go wrong.

It was getting very late but probably nobody was sleeping. Most were talking…and talking…and talking some more. Just when you thought someone could not go on talking any more, they found a new detail to discuss in detail.

But this did not apply to Dogsbreath, mercifully for his ability to communicate was rather coarse. He walked along the edge of the village and into the woods. It was very dark now, and he walked unnoticed. He knew the woods enough to pick his way about, and once he was out of sight of the village he pulled out a hitherto concealed lantern. He made his way to a small clearing, set the lantern down on a log, and waited, his body twitching with excitement.

At length another person appeared. She stopped and leaned against a tree. "So, you have come, as you promised, Mi Amor," she spoke the Norse with a Spanish accent, though Dogsbreath had no idea what accent it was.

He grinned. "Yes I did,"

"You look _immensely_ handsome in the firelight," she purred, "It makes my blood heat up just to look at you,"

"Yer not so bad yerself," he replied, "But ah can't see too much! Why doncha come a little closer and lose the clothes?"

She swayed about coyly. "That's what you said last night, when I was just a poor helpless shipwrecked girl looking for a handsome man to take care of me."

His grin grew even wider. "An' I took care o'ya very well, didn't I?"

She shook her head. "Not enough. You'll have to take care of me _more_ tonight, Mi Amor," She drew closer to him and very slowly took off her black shirt—revealing another shirt underneath. Dogsbreath was trembling with excitement and impatience, while she was calm and collected. "Show me again what a man you are, then, why don't you tell me what's on your mind." She whispered in his ear as she put her hand on his belt, "I would _love_ to hear about it,"

"Whatever you say, Me Ah-more," He cackled gleefully.


	12. Chapter 12

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 12**

 **A Case Closed**

Astrid woke from a dream where she had been flying through the clouds again, and she was none too happy about waking up from it. Still, the day had to be met, and she had responsibilities to attend to. Among other things, she wanted to see how the trainees had faired during her absences, and she was eager to have a private talk with the Chief.

Getting the youngsters to focus proved to be a challenge. All they wanted to do was discuss dragons and the person who rode on them.

"Was he tall?"

"What size feet did he have?"

"Can dragons eat grass?"

"How many dragons did he command?"

"Can I learn to talk to dragons too?"

"Can I have my own dragon?" Ase asked eagerly. Astrid gave her the sternest look she could muster up.

"No, you cannot have a dragon, because on Berk the policy is to kill dragons, not train them."

"But you'll change that when you become Chief, right?"

Whatever her personal thoughts were, she knew it was a dangerous topic to talk about so she told her "not likely." Given the known hostility of the adult villagers to the idea it was a safely ambiguous answer. But even more distressing to her was the secret she was keeping. She was mostly just distressed about hiding it from her parents, and several times she had wanted to tell them, and she had only been home for less than a day, but always stopped herself by rememeber why she was keeping it secret in the first place and then asking what good it would do?

She considered asking her father for advice using a hypothetical question, but could not figure out how to frame a question that would not sound ridiculous. What could she say? 'What would you do if you had a big secret you wanted to tell but were afraid to tell?' And then ask him to believe that this was not in the least bit related to her? She knew her father would never fall for that. So while she really wished for family guidance, she could not bring herself to tell them. This time she would have to handle a problem alone.

Her secret was distressing to her, but she had other things to think about, thankfully. The idea of flying again kept coming into her mind and began to distract her as she taught her class. Mistakes like Peer's posture when stretching or Sven's way of holding his axe were almost glanced over, and training itself ended nearly a quarter of an hour early, something which had never happened when Astrid taught. In fact, more often than not it went late, and was sometimes only stopped when parents came to get their children back to work in their fields and homes.

One of the thoughts that distracted her mind so much was the information about Snotlout. Astrid had hoped for a talk with Stoick but he was busy directing ship repairs and attending to a list of complaints (mostly from Mildew), and was unavailable until the afternoon. So she went to her home for lunch, where she found her mother was having a chat with Ruffnut. The female Thorsten Twin had come over to get some spices for her own mother's cooking, and had been invited to join Mrs. Hofferson for a lunch.

"Hi Astrid," Ruffnut said with a slight wave, "How'd training go today?"

Astrid shrugged, "Fine. Nothing to really speak of." She wouldn't admit it, but the reason for an absence of anything to speak of was due to her lapse in paying close attention to it.

The three of them sat down at the table and began to eat.

Ruffnut spoke up in between bites. "So, this Dragon King…you never did answer my question if he was hot."

"I wouldn't know, Ruff. He always had his face hidden." She wondered what he really did look like after all these years. He said he had been horribly disfigured. If he really was, she wondered how badly.

"Pity."

"And anyway, Ruff, what does it matter if he's hot?" Greta chuckled at hearing this.

"Because I'm still waiting for my knight to come and take me away from this place!" Ruffnut replied dreamily. Astrid snorted. "I'm serious! Alright, maybe not literally, but my mom brought up marriage today, and when I consider the possibilities…they don't seem too bright now, do they?"

She had a point, Astrid acknowledged.

"I mean, there's Fishlegs, who's kinda cute and smart, but a bit annoying at times and too fat for my taste. Then there are those guys Dogsbreath and Hognose, who I wouldn't touch with a broom dipped in acid. Then there's Snotlout—"

"And the less said about him the better?" Greta suggested.

"You said it. So since the pickings here are so slim, I figure I'll have to find some foreigner, and a guy who lives with fire breathing destruction causing dragons _definitely_ sounds like my type of guy." She stared at the ceiling fantasizing.

"And what about you, Astrid?" asked Greta lightly, "am I to expect a son-in-law anytime in the near future?"

"Mom, we've been through this…" Astrid said wearily.

"I'm just kidding! I know perfectly well no man here interests you!"

"Snotlout's fault," Ruffnut declared, "his flirting has disgusted her so much the prospect of anyone else trying it makes her sick!"

"I just wish I made him sick!" Astrid groaned, "Perhaps then he'd stop flirting with me! Honestly, ever since we were kids he's been flirting with me! Nothing I can do will get him to stop it! And then there's Gustav Larson! He's almost just as bad!"

"Maybe you should try a new tactic," suggested her mother, "flirt back...make yourself get so disgustingly seductive you terrify them!"

"I'm not stooping that low, Mom!"

"Want me to do it? I'd love to mess with Snotlout like that!" Ruffnut laughed, "Or maybe we could ask the Dragon King to come and scare him into stopping it!"

"You want the Dragon King to flirt with Snotlout?" Greta asked with mock confusion.

"That's not what I meant!"

"She'd rather have him flirt with her!" Astrid grinned.

"And I'll bet you'd rather have him flirt with you!" Ruffnut playfully shoved her. Astrid responded with a shove so powerful she pushed Ruff out of her chair.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry!"

"So, Ruffnut," Greta asked once the girl had climbed back in her chair, "how are the healing lessons coming?"

"Ugh! I prefer to cause destruction, not clean up after it!"

"Nevertheless, healing is an important skill to have. Besides, given your track record, you might need to use it on yourself one day!"

"I'll bet her parents were hoping those lessons might get her to settle down a bit." Astrid sniggered.

"Well they won't! I'll be blowing stuff up until the day I die!" Ruffnut proclaimed proudly.

They had finished eating by then, so Ruffnut excused herself, collected what she had come for, and departed for home, leaving mother and daughter to clean up after her.

"In all seriousness, though, Astrid," Greta said as she washed off the wooden plates, " _Am_ I going to see a son-in-law one day?"

"Mom—"

"I won't ask for grandchildren yet, because I think you getting engaged will be reward enough at the rate you're going."

"Is that all girls here are supposed to think about?" Astrid asked in annoyance.

"Of course not! But even so, haven't you ever thought about it?"

Astrid shrugged dismissively. "There's nobody here I want to marry, Mom."

"What are you waiting for, some knight like Ruffnut?"

"Mom, I don't want to get married, all right?"

"Why not?" Her mother turned away from the cleaned dishes to face her. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing, Astrid, I just want to understand why you aren't interested."

"Like I said, there's nobody here I want to marry! The most decent choice for a husband here would be _Fishlegs_! Honestly, Ruffnut wasn't kidding when she said it was slim pickings here; the males my age are pathetic—and I am _not_ marrying somebody old enough to be my dad either! By default _Hiccup_ wouldn't have been a bad choice for a husband if he had lived—think about that, Mom: _Hiccup_!"

"All right, keep your hair on, lass! There's no need to get angry." Astrid had indeed been getting a bit riled up as she had talked. "But what's so bad about the guys here—besides looks." It would be stretching the truth to call any of the men she knew 'handsome' or 'attractive.'

"Mom, I'm going to be the next Chief of Berk. If I get married, what becomes of my position? Most of the men here would try to put keep me in the background and run things themselves. I'm not going to be a figurehead while my 'husband' uses the position that _I_ earned to satisfy his own ambitions! I don't want to be some dutiful little wife who goes around tending submissively to her husband's every whim! I'm going to be the Chief and I'm going to run Berk as I see fit, and not have some man second guessing me and undermining me all the time. And that's what most of the men here would do, and you'd better believe it!"

"I know that, lass, I know," Greta nodded sympathetically.

Astrid paced around slowly. There was in truth another reason that she knew her mother was well aware of. Becoming the next chief meant power, and one with such power had to choose one's allies and partners carefully. She would become a huge target for suitors from all kinds of places and families, and the majority of them would be drawn to her to gain the power she would wield. She had no desire to please such people. There was also the fact that choosing one applicant for a husband would mean offending and possibly losing support from all the others.

"I mean—I wouldn't mind sharing power, or having a man to help me! But we'd have to be working together, like partners! I want a man who would treat me like an equal, not like some ornament or convenience. Someone who I could trust to treat me the way I want to be treated, not the way he thinks I ought to be treated." She sat down and looked at her mother bitterly, "and I've never met such a man. I'll probably just die single and adopt an heir, like Stoick is doing."

"Speaking of which, how is that coming, anyway? Have you told him yet?"

Astrid grinned, "I'm heading over there in an hour. Will you come with me?"

"I'd rather not. I'm sure I'll hear everything from here, and I don't want to be too close to the Haddocks when they erupt. Dragon raids are safer when that kind of thing happens."

Sometimes Chief Stoick would appear as if he was too large for the house he lived in. This was one of those times. Astrid remembered when Hiccup was alive how tiny the boy had seemed next to his gigantic parent. In those days Stoick could even pick him up and carry him with just one hand. That was how small Hiccup had been and how strong the Chief was. Spitelout was somewhat smaller in size, but still a large and tough figure. Next to them, Snotlout, muscular as he was, looked more like a child.

"So, Lass, what's on your mind?"

"And what did ya want us for?" demanded Spitelout.

"Yeah, Astrid, if you wanted to see me, why'd you have to invite the Chief and my dad?" Snotlout asked with an oily smile he probably thought looked charming. "We could always go somewhere private…"

Astrid wanted to hit him, but checked herself. 'Not in front of the Chief.' She thought. Instead she said "Spitelout, Sir, how much money was taken from your house?"

"What does _that_ have to do with anything concerning you?"

"I have some new insights in the robbery." Upon hearing this Snotlout suddenly paled but composed himself.

"500 pieces of silver." Stoick said, "Don't look at me like that, Spitelout. It's not like it was a secret. Why do you ask, Lass?"

"It's interesting, Sir, because the Thorsten Twins tell me they only put 100 pieces into the bag they shot into the sea."

"Then they kept the rest?" Spitelout exclaimed, heading for the door, "where are those two? Don't stop me, Astrid; I'm getting my money back!"

Astrid had gotten in his way. "Sorry, sir, but they don't have the rest. They never did. Now I have to ask Snotlout something." She turned to him, secretly enjoying seeing him clearly uncomfortable. "Tell me, Snotlout, do you think your friends will stand by you the next time you run out of money?"

Snotlout really turned pale now.

"What are you saying?" Spitelout asked suspiciously.

"I'm suggesting, sir, that Snotlout took your money and used it to bribe people like Dogsbreath and Mildew into behaving themselves, then gave the rest to the Twins to make it look like they had stolen it."

"WHAT?" Stoick and Spitelout shouted simultaneously.

"It's a lie!" Snotlout cried in panic, "It's all a lie! How could you ever think of such a thing, Astrid? She's just lying to claim the Chiefdom for herself!"

"Want me to ask Mildew and Dogsbreath?" Astrid asked calmly.

"No! They'll lie too! They're all liars! It's a lie!" Snotlout's voice went up about an octave. This and his face would have confessed his guilt to the least perceptive man in the world, and that man was not Stoick the Vast. "It's a lie!"

"Snotlout, did you rob your father?" Stoick asked very coldly, looking the boy square in the face.

"It's a lie, a completious lie!" Aside from using words that did not even exist, the line 'it's a lie' seemed to be all he was capable of saying at the moment.

Spitelout was almost ready to thrash his son, but he knew what this could mean for Snotlout and wanted to be certain no excuse could be found. "How does she know about this?" He demanded.

"The Dragon King told me."

"And what does he know about it?" Spitelout shouted.

"He's got eyes and ears everywhere," Astrid replied confidently, "he'll probably know all about this conversation before sunset."

"How?" Spitelout turned to his brother, "I've been keeping an eye out all day and I've never seen any dragons spying on us! This Dragon lover probably made this up to help ensure Astrid would become the next Chief." He turned to her. "Are you on his side, lass? Have you betrayed your people for that Demon lover? Remember Stoick, that man rides the beast that killed your son; are you going to believe anything he says? He's already taken Astrid by the looks of it. I wonder—the two of you alone on an island—what else did he take from you beside your—" He was stopped by Astrid hitting him in the face.

"Never—insult—my virtue—again!" Astrid bellowed, "I am as pure a woman and a Viking as any other! And I do not rob my own parents to buy support for myself, unlike some people!"

"It's a lie!"

"It's not a lie! Think about it! How many people know where Spitelout keeps his money? How many of those would know how to open it and only take some of the money? How many of those would know when to commit the crime without being caught or seen? And since when would someone like Dogsbreath do anything helpful to Berk without expecting a reward? Ask him, or ask Mildew, or ask the Twins! Hel, summon the Dragon King here and ask _him_ , if you want confirmation!"

Snotlout suddenly found new words to say. "What can he possibly know? It's not like there were any terrors watching over Mildew's house!"

"Is that where you gave the money out?"

"Yes—no, no! NO! I—" he looked wildly at his father for support, but Spitelout was cold and emotionless. "I mean, it's not like he could have been spying on me if I had been giving out money to Mildew—which I didn't!"

"You did it." Spitelout groaned.

"It's a lie!"

At that moment a piece of parchment fell from the ceiling. Every head jerked up but there was no sign of how it had gotten up there. Stoick picked up the parchment and read out loud: " _he's got the remaining 200 pieces hidden in the trunk in his room_."

The four of them went to Spitelout's home. More correctly, three of them went while Snotlout was dragged there, all the while shouting "It's a lie" and "I'm being framed!" Everyone they passed stared at them incredulously. Astrid spotted Dogsbreath running into his own house.

The results of the search were exactly as the letter had said they would be: 200 pieces of silver in a bag hidden in Snotlout's trunk.

"I'm being framed!" Snotlout squealed, but his words fooled no one.

"Astrid, I'd like you to leave. This is a family matter now." Stoick's voice was hard as iron. Astrid knew better than to disobey or question.

As soon as she was outside she heard shouting.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"YOU IDIOT!"

"DAD I—!"

"TRYING TO BRIBE YOUR WAY TO THE CHIEFDOM!"

"TAKING MY MONEY!"

The noise could be heard on the other side of the village. All the villagers stopped what they were doing and were listening.

"Odin, I don't think Old Stoick has shouted like this since Hiccup was alive!"

"I wonder what happened."

"I guess Snotlout ain't gonna be the chief now."

"That's the best news I've heard all week!"

"Mead, anyone?"

Astrid chuckled when she suddenly heard screams coming from the woods.

"That sounds like Dogsbreath!" someone cried. She ran into the woods with several others, following the screams. They had not gone far when they found Dogsbreath tied to the trunk of a tree and screaming at the top of his lungs. On the ground were a shovel and a bag. Pinned to the bag was a piece of parchment.

"It was him!" Dogsbreath cried, "He attacked me!"

"Who did?" Olaf asked as another villager untied him.

"THE DRAGON KING! HE ATTACKED ME! HE TIED ME UP! HE TRIED TO KILL ME!" Dogsbreath was fidgeting around so much he nearly kicked his own rescuer in the head.

Astrid picked up the parchment and read out loud " _I believe this belongs to Spitelout_." Lying on the ground was a shovel and bag of silver.

"The fool explained everything later," Astrid told Fishlegs and the Twins that evening at dinner. "Dogsbreath saw us with Snotlout and guessed what had happened. He grabbed his share of the money and went to bury it in the woods, but the Dragon King caught him."

"The Dragon King was _here_?" Fishlegs cried.

"Who else could it have been?"

"And he managed to tie up Dogsbreath? I really want to meet this guy!" Ruffnut grinned.

"I want to see his dragons!"

"I want to see all the destruction they can do!"

Astrid shook her head. "You guys didn't ask me how the Chief reacted."

Tuffnut laughed. "We don't need to. We heard it."

Fishlegs looked eagerly at her. "So what does this mean, Astrid? Are you now the Heir officially?"

"Well—not exactly. Dad and I thought it would be unwise to bring it up to Stoick so soon. In fact, we've settled on waiting for Stoick to come to us to offer it, once he sees he has no better option."

Fishlegs raised his goblet, "Well, here's to our new Chief,"

"Here here!"

"Cheers!"

Astrid felt touched—and also a bit guilty.

The Hofferson household was equally buoyant that night, and for many nights and days to come. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Astrid was going to be the next Chief. Most people were relieved as well, glad that Snotlout would not be getting the Chiefdom and relieved that that issue at least seemed finally settled. Their thoughts turned back to the Dragon King, his terms, the information Astrid had brought, and his latest escapade. It made for lots of talk that went on long after the night was half over.

It was far from being festive at the Jorgenson residence. They were forced to eat at home because Spitelout was anxious to avoid everyone, which unfortunately put them in close proximity with each other. The shouting match earlier that day had not improved the mood of either Jorgenson.

"You idiot!" shouted Spitelout. Snotlout sat sullenly at the table, looking away from his father. "I wouldn't care if you robbed every moron on the island if it made us rulers of Berk, but why'd you have to let yourself get caught doing it?"

"How was I supposed to know some dragon freak was spying on me?" Snotlout snapped.

"First rule of this game, stupid, is to _always_ assume you're being watched! Have I taught you nothing? Have I not been trying to make you Chief ever since you were a child?"

"Yes you have! It's been about the Chiefdom as far back as I can remember!"

"You never complained, did you? You never objected to the idea of running the island! You never minded the prospect of everything here becoming yours! It was all yours on a platter, if you had only just straightened up and paid attention! But no, you had to go about taking care of your ego more than taking care of staying in Stoick's good graces! And now look! Thanks to your stupidity, everything I've worked like a dog for all these years has been ruined! Well I hope you're happy: you've blown it! All you had to do was to outshine Astrid—a _woman_! It should have been as easy as outshining Hiccup!"

"So I bribed some people to be nice, so what? It's not a bad idea!"

"The other villagers, and especially Stoick, don't like the idea of bribes, stupid. They see it as a form of corruption that leads to instability!"

"You always said it's just the results that matter!"

"To people like you and me, not to people like Stoick! You've got to be able to judge character correctly and manipulate it! That's what Dogsbreath and Mildew were doing to you! They would have just kept demanding more money from you, and you'd have ended up completely in their pocket! The Chief has to be the one everyone else is dependent on, not the other way around!"

"And was I going to be entirely dependent on you, or were you going to leave me alone and let me do things my way?" Snotlout shouted.

"Well it doesn't matter much now, does it? Thanks to your stupidity you can say goodbye to any hopes of becoming Chief now. Everything I've worked for has been ruined thanks to you!"

"Everything _you've_ worked for?" Snotlout stood up. "All you've done is tell me what to do, always shout at me for every little mistake, always boast about my achievements to others and then coming home to tell me everything I did wrong! Then you'd assure me it was all to make me the Chief! And now you're going to blame everything on me again?"

"Don't you use that tone with me young man!"

"If this is all your work, then it's your own fault it's come to nothing! Why didn't you work harder? If you're so eager to make me the Chief, why didn't you find a way to bump off Astrid?"

"Because _you_ wanted to sleep with her and I thought you had the strength to beat her yourself! Why didn't you focus more on training and impressing Stoick than trying to get Astrid to go to bed with you?"

Snotlout had several words he wanted to say to his father, but he held his tongue. Spitelout likewise got the sense that this blaming game would not help matters. They both started taking deep breaths to calm down a little.

"Is there no hope?" Snotlout asked hoarsely.

"I don't know. There's always a chance Astrid might die, but aside from that…unless she somehow screws up _really_ badly, I can't see how Stoick will consider you again." He frowned. "We've got to stay low for a while, until a chance for glory comes up. Gods, I wish some dragons would show up! Your reputation would be nigh untouchable with a stellar kill count! Assuming Astrid doesn't outshine you in that matter like she has in everything else!" At this Snotlout stormed off to his room.

Spitelout turned things over in his mind. This was a bad setback, but it was not irredemible—he hoped. Ever since that small meeting with Stoick, Spitelout had thought of the plan Stoick had suggested. Now he wanted to ensure it was implemented. If Snotlout was the reason it worked, and if something happened to Astrid in the process, all _might_ be forgiven. But first he'd have to get Stoick to go along with it.

"I'll remind him of Hiccup and Valka. That'll do the trick. For once that boy will be useful for something!"

Snotlout stormed about his room furiously.

"My fault!" he seethed, "my fault! It's his fault for not helping me when I needed it most! It's always been praising me in public and scorning me at home! I'm sick of it!" He sat down on his bed. "It's always been about me becoming the Chief! 'A Chief does this, a Chief does that…you'd be chief if you did this, you'd be chief if you did that…but you didn't so you're not the chief'! I'm so SICK OF IT!" He shouted his last three words at the top of his lungs, hoping his father would hear him. Then in a softer tone he mumbled, "Why does it always have to be about the chiefdom?"

He slowly became away that he was sitting on something that was not a blanket. He felt around and picked up a piece of parchment.

' _Lamentable, but you did have it coming_ '

Snotlout ran out of his room. "Dad! The Dragon King's been here! Look!" Spitelout came running at full speed, almost barreling into his son.

"Housebreaking now? What else is this fiend going to do?" Snotlout anxiously handed him the note. Spitelout read it and tore it up. "Nobody needs to know about this." He said. "And we've really got to watch our steps from now on. For all we know he could be spying on us right now!"

In fact he was not. The Dragon King and the Night Fury were sitting on the throne in their hall and were laughing loud enough to make the room echo.

They had heard about Astrid's return from their Terror scouts, and had also learned when Astrid planned to tell Stoick about Snotlout's bribery. In a fit of mischievousness they had decided to go to Berk and see for themselves what would happen. While hiding in the woods, the King had a Terror sneak into Stoick's house and drop the letter for them to read. He had gotten a good laugh watching them drag Snotlout through town, and had spotted Dogsbreath running into the woods with a bag of money. It had been a simple matter to follow him, sneak up on him, tie him up, and leave a quick note. While the villagers were all reacting to Dogsbreath's screaming, he had sneaked around the village and slipped into Snotlout's room to leave his final note behind.

" **Well, Bud, I'd say things are looking good for us**!"

" **No kidding**!" Toothless gave the King one of his trademark toothless smiles.

" **Astrid's on her way to the Chiefdom and likes dragons, Snotlout and Dogsbreath have been humiliated, and we've made a nice impression on the rest of Berk. It's been a good day's work**!"


	13. Chapter 13

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Thanks for all the glowing reviews! Now, there are a few things people have been asking that I wish to address:**

 **Valka is not showing up in this nor is Heather, nor will the Defender of the Wing people. And the woman Dogsbreath met with in Chapter 11 is a character I created**

 **This story has a ways to go before it's finished, and what is about to come is NOT the climax,**

 **To the reader named Mana, you figured out some of the next few chapters before you even read them. Congratulations!**

 **I would really like to thank FenixWarriorBrX13 and especially LucyBC1990 for their suggestions with this story. Had it not been for their advice and suggestions this story would be vastly different and inferior compared to what it is now. Thank you very much.**

 **Chapter 13**

 **The Letter**

Leagues away from Berk the Dragon King and his brother shot through the air like lightning.

" _Soaring by each white cloud_

 _Like a tern we glide over the sea_

 _Some say this fun is not allowed_

 _But who cares? Certainly not me!_

 _We pull death cheating tricks_

 _And seek lands untouched by humankind_

 _To the ground I say 'fiddlesticks'_

 _And leave all our troubles behind_ "

" **Just like how you left your talents behind?** " The dragon groaned as he covered his ears.

" **Like you would know, you tone deaf lizard**!" laughed the King. " **Well, Bud, shall we try this again**?"

" **Only if you want to give me a heart attack**." The dragon groaned.

" **Oh come on, it'll be fine**!" He pulled a lever that held Toothless's tail fin in place so he could glide, and prepared to jump off. Then he spotted a dragon trapper ship below them. " **Hold up, Bud! Change in plans**!" He changed the lever and they swooped downwards.

" **One mast, five net launchers, hull has metal covering, six trappers visible, looks big enough for a crew of ten, heading northward…what d'ya say, Bud? Shall we call for backup or take this one on our own**?" The scream of a Nadder reached their ears. " **I think that settles it**."

" **Let's do this, boss**!" Toothless roared and dived.

The trappers hardly had five seconds of warning when the dragon smashed onto their deck. With one powerful swipe of his tail Toothless sent three of them flying overboard.

" **Take out the nets launchers! I'll get the hold opened**!" With precision the King whipped out his sword and slashed it through the locks on the cargo hold. He jumped in while Toothless shot plasma blasts at the remaining trappers, forcing them to stay back.

"The pikes!" One hunter shouted.

" **I don't think so**!" Toothless laughed and he blasted the box the man was reaching for. The pikes were reduced to splinters. A Nadder and two Monstrous Nightmares emerged from the hold, making the boat list badly. The King was casually hanging onto the horns of one Nightmare.

" **His name's Hookfang**!" The dragon beamed with pride.

" **Don't get any ideas, you! He's** _ **my**_ **human**!" Toothless yelled at the Nightmare. The King chuckled as he mounted him.

" **Jealous, eh? All right, let's get out of here**!" The rescued dragons needed no more urging.

"Go! Go ahead and flee, you coward!" One trapper shouted at them. Toothless paused. He did not like being called a coward.

" **Bud, ignore him**."

"Go and run away, you demon loving freak!" Now it was the King's turn to pause. The man saw this and sneered at him. "What's the matter? Can't take a few insults?"

"What's your name?" The King asked, fighting to keep his voice steady.

"I am Eret, son of Eret; the finest dragon trapper in the world!" The man replied proudly. He was a stocky man with a very broad chest and a face that you could crack rocks on.

"Yet you had only three dragons in the hold." The King pointed out. "Hardly a record setting voyage."

"And now thanks to you we'll have to start all over again!" Eret son of Eret shouted at him. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've given us? Do you have any idea what Drago will do to us if we turn up empty handed? Look at this!" He gestured to a large burn mark on his chest. "He made that the last time I came back with too few dragons! He swore it would be my head the next time!"

"Then why do you serve him?" The King retorted. "If you're in that much danger, leave! You've got a ship! There a thousand ports out there he'll never find you in!"

"Drago's going to conquer the world and you know it. We'll never be safe."

"The world is a very big place, Eret, 'son of Eret'. As a sailor you oughta know that. Nobody could conquer all of it. Drago certainly won't after I'm done with him. Find a new place to live and a new occupation, and I'll make certain Drago never finds you again."

"New occupation? That's your game, is it? Put our lives in danger, ruin our livelihoods, then suggest we leave our homes and find new jobs! We were raised since birth to be dragon trappers, and you want us to toss that aside!"

"Why not? I did something similar! And as for finding work, every one of you could become fishermen or merchant sailors, or if you crave excitement I'm sure there are armies on the continent looking for soldiers! But as long as I'm around, you're not going to make anything dragon trapping. I am going to ruin that line of business permanently!" And with that they took off into the sky. The trappers wanted to shoot a net at them, only to find the launchers were all destroyed. All they could do was pull their drifting comrades back on board and sigh as they cleaned up.

"Do you think he's right, Sir?"

"Drago might not conquer the entire world, but he'll get most of it sooner or later. We'll never get far enough away if we run, lads."

"But we can't go back like this!"

"We're not going to." Eret sighed. "We'll keep looking. If we're late we'll explain that we had to stop for repairs and returned as quickly as we could." And maybe during that time that man will kill Drago and we won't have to worry about it, he thought hopefully. Now that he thought about it, a life in the army did not sound like such a bad idea compared to life as it was now. At least there the only people threatening to kill you would be on the opposing side where they were supposed to be.

"Or maybe we could seek protection with—"

"Not that!" Eret shouted quickly, "We're not so desperate that we need to seek _his_ protection!"

"But we're excellent dragon hunters, sir, I'm sure he'd welcome us!"

"No! Between Drago and Grimborn, I'll side with Drago any day. Drago may be brutal, but he doesn't give me the creeps as badly!"

It was night when Snotlout made his way over to Mildew's house. He had to bang on the door a few times before Mildew answered.

"Oh, it's you, is it? Sorree, lad, but ya blew it. Ah can't 'elp ya now." And he shut the door.

Snotlout was stunned. "Now just a minute! I paid you a lot of good money to help me and you're just dumping me?"

Mildew opened the door again. "That's politics, boy." Then he shut it again.

Snotlout banged on it furiously. "Then I want my money back! Give it back or I'll tell the Chief everything!"

"Pu-leeze! Wot makes ya think 'e'd ever listen ta ya now? Nothin' ya say will make any difference! An' Dogsbreath an' 'Ognose know better than ta side wid ya too! Now go away!"

As he made his way back through the dark, Snotlout felt very alone. Very alone and miserable.

Of what was left of the Jorgenson family, Spitelout had a lot more success that night. He spent it with Stoick, after first declaring that he had no idea of what Snotlout had done, which they both knew to be true.

"I just can't believe things went so far as that!" Stoick exclaimed. "How, from where we started, did it come to this?"

"I know what ya mean. The family is either dead or disgraced and we're forced to settle on an outsider as the heir, and it's all because of them stupid dragons! And you know, I've been thinking about that…it's really quite a shame the King's dragon killed your boy."

Stoick put down his mead tankard. "Don't speak so loud. We don't know if we're being watched,"

"He promises us peace and yet spies on us! Some ally that man would be! And how would it look if Berk allied itself with the man responsible for the death of the Chief's son?" Spitelout whispered.

"Astrid insists he didn't. Says he told her sincerely he didn't. And you heard his excuse," His voice sank to a whisper, "but I don't believe it,"

"Even if it's true, he still took your son away from you, didn't he? He admitted that much! But then again, we should let the past go! Forget the fact that Valka and Hiccup were both killed by dragons! And you know, I think that King is a bit of a fool. I mean, he's got hundreds of dragons at his command…think of what he could do with that much power! Why, he could rule the world if he wanted to!" His voice sank even further. "True, he made it clear he did not want to use them for conquest, but supposing he had no say in the matter? Suppose we had the dragons under _our_ control…isn't that what Valka always wanted?"

He was pushing on an opened door and he knew it. Stoick still had not forgotten about his family and the fact that dragons were responsible for it.

A long time ago, back when Stoick was being groomed to be Chief, he had often expressed a wish to be the greatest chief Berk had ever had, to end the war with dragons, to even conquer dragons and use them to establish a great Viking nation, which he would rule with wisdom and greatness. Youthful dreams at an age of life when anything seemed possible! Reality had quickly settled in and Stoick was compelled to largely forget about such dreams of conquest and greatness. He still wanted to be a great chief, as would anyone, but he acknowledged that much of what he had envisioned was mere fantasy from a young man who did not know what lay in store for him. They had been the merely desires of a young and inexperienced boy and he had grown up and realized that. Now, however, with a few words, Spitelout had rekindled those old ideas and hinted to Stoick that they were not impossible now.

And Stoick listened to him. Each day he had been thinking more and more of Valka and Hiccup and the fact that he had failed to avenge them. Each day he thought more and more of peace. Even if every tribe accepted the King's terms and made peace with the dragons, the tribes would then probably turn on each other and a new series of wars would break out. Surely there had to be a way to stop this. Had he not insisted he fought with dragons to prevent others from suffering from the losses he had suffered? Stopping one war only to start another was hardly compatable with this reason. It seemed obvious to him that what was needed a single power to bring unity and put an end to this mindless violence. And why should not Berk be the one to bring this about?

The scent of power is incredibly fragrant and alluring. Dreams of glory and greatness can be more seductive than a siren, and just as deadly in some respects. And like sailors wildly leaping into the sea after sirens, so Stoick leapt into the sea of words that flowed from Sptielout's mouth. They were already what he wanted to hear and he went along with them readily.

So Spitelout and Stoick began the plan Stoick had first suggested the night after Astrid had returned. They wrote the gist of it out on parchment and kept between the two of them. Unbeknowst to him, Snotlout was volunteered by his father. But whenever Spitelout suggested that maybe Snotlout should get another chance, Stoick was adamantly against it. Astrid was the heir and that was that. Still, to improve the family reputation after what had just happened, as they wrote their plan out, Stoick agreed that Snotlout should be allowed a part in it. All the same, he was to be kept in the dark about it until the last minute, as would the rest of Berk. They both knew a single untimely word might ruin everything, and knowing the people of Berk, there would be a lot of words once this got out.

One general consistency with the mentality of the public is that it has been a tendency to move onto a new subject fairly quickly. After a few days of gossip a subject loses its audience and a new vein is sought out to strike at. Evidently the wells of gossip had run dry on Berk, because two weeks after Astrid's return the Dragon King was still the foremost, and practically only topic of conversation. Nobody doubted as to why there was a spring in her step when she was walking, why she was teaching in a very gracious and forgiving mood, and how she had managed to set a record for longest period of time on Berk without punching someone.

Another subject that got people talking was the bribe, the news of which, despite the best efforts of Spitelout and Stoick, had spread throughout the island and provided lots of comedic moments for villagers. Even though he was involved with it, Mildew took to making made loud and rude remarks whenever Snotlout had passed by. Snotlout retaliated by getting the Twins to catapult bags full of yak dung onto Mildew's rickety house. The three of them were punished for this, of course, but amazingly Stoick did not make them help Mildew clean off his house. He just gave them jobs to do at the docks.

All of these made for a lot of rousing conversation around the table and during the hours of labor. But it was all eclipsed when Stoick made a startling announcement and left a piece of parchment in the center of the plaza for a Terrible Terror to pick up.

The King was sketching a new design for a machine for planting crops, when a Terrible Terror flew in carrying a piece of parchment.

" **Thanks pal! Now what's this**?" He read the letter, re-read it twice more, and then ran out of his room shouting " **Toothless! Get the others! Get the others**!"

In the Main Hall the King paced about impatiently as the others arrived. When they were all assembled he said without preamble " **Listen to this!**

" **To the Dragon King, Greetings,**

 **I am very glad to say that Astrid returned safely. No offense is meant, but we were not entirely certain if we had sent her to her death or not. But after what I have heard and seen, I have decided to accept your terms. However, I wish to go over a few small points with you in person. I therefore would like to invite you to Berk this coming Thor's Day. We shall have a ceremonial dinner to celebrate our new alliance and finalize the agreement. In addition, I shall take the opportunity to officially declare Astrid Hofferson as my successor. The dinner shall take place at sundown in Mead Hall, which Astrid assures me you know the location of, or can find out very easily. I only ask that you not bring any dragons into the village. It would be all too easy for some drunkard to make a gesture a dragon might find threatening, and that could easily lead to a big mess which would be a horrible way to commemorate this occasion. Therefore, if any dragons must come to Berk, I ask that they remain in the woods where they won't be stumbled upon. I hope to see you on Thor's Day at sundown, and until then,**

 **Your true servant**

 **Chief Stoick the Vast of the Hairy Hooligans** "

The dragons burst into cheers. The King flung his arms around Toothless, who responded by licking him.

" **We've done it, guys! Step one is completed**!" The King shouted, " **And it'll be just a matter of time before the other tribes will be joining in too! Right, now what's fashionable to wear to a Viking dinner**?"

Thor's Day could not arrive fast enough for him, and when it finally did come, he was so excited he could barely mount Toothless. One mishap occurred the day before, however. The King had been practicing using the grappling hook hidden in his shield, and the rope had snapped. He had no coils of rope long enough to satisfy him at the moment, so he decided to pick some up while at Berk.

" **We won't be back until tomorrow morning** ," he told Grimm, who would be in charge during their absence. " **Knowing Vikings this 'dinner' will probably go all night, so we'll probably stay the night on Berk and leave at daybreak**."

" **Be careful** ," Grimm warned. Of the council members he had been the least joyous and most suspicious about the turn of events.

" **Oh don't be such a worrywart! We'll be fine** ," the King laughed dismissively, " **You guys can relax; I have already made preparations in case this is a trap. All right, Bud, let's head for Berk**!"

" **Have hope, Grimm** ," Persephone said once they had left, " **It is not that hard a thing to have, you know.** "

" **Maybe in Japan** ," the Skrill grumbled, " **but I learned a long time ago that in these parts having hope just makes the disaster all the more crushing**."

" **That's nonsense. Humans can be as good and kind creatures as any other."**

" **But you know** ," Midnight mused, " **it** _ **is**_ **rather risky to just let him go with only Toothless to keep them safe**."

" **But he said he's made preparations**!" Shamrock pointed out,

" **Yes he did,"** Grimm replied, " **he told me everything last night** ,"

" **What are the latest reports from Berk, anyway**?" Midnight asked,

" **Nothing much. The Chief is still writing an awful lot—of course we don't know what he's actually been writing. I've been meaning to have a word with the Hatchling about that**. **He thought the Chief might be writing letters to other tribes urging them to join the cause.** "

" **Well, he** _ **is**_ **a Chief** ," Shamrock pointed out, " **I imagine he has a lot of correspondence** ,"

" **All the same…"**

Persephone insisted **"Hearts can change! His did when he saw the Beta for the first time!"** Then she paused. **"At the same time, it cannot hurt to make certain, can it, just to be on the safe side?"**

" **No it can't,"** Grimm agreed, **"will anyone volunteer to come with me and check on them**?"

All of them immediately raised their tails.

" **That's what I thought**."

Many hours later Toothless and his rider landed in a cove at Raven Point. It was far enough from the village that they could arrive unnoticed.

It was a beautiful spot. Rocks covered in soft, furry moss lay strewn about the ground. There was a pool of sparkling clear blue water in the center. The cove was surrounded by tall, thick, and ancient trees, with gnarly limbs and twisted roots, often covered in ivy or lichen. Tall, stately boulders surrounded the place, and baring a few random gaps the wall they formed was nigh impregnable.

" **I remember this place** ,"

" **Well I should hope so! Do you want your saddle taken off**?"

" **I'll keep it on, thanks. I wish you'd remove this fin, though**."

" **We've been through this, Toothless. I'm hopeful everything will go just fine, but I'd be a fool if I didn't take a few precautions."** He really wished he had not left his shield behind, but it was too late now. **"Besides, this way you can fly around and entertain yourself if you want—just don't go near the village**."

" **Don't worry**!" Toothless laughed hollowly, " **The last thing I want is to go near a bunch of smelly Vikings! Now their sheep…** "

" **Paws off, Bud** ,"

Toothless suddenly darted forward and gave him a big lick.

" **Toothless! I was trying to look nice for the dinner**!"

" **Aw, so what? Since when do Vikings look nice anyway? Bunch of stinky bearded drunkards who throw axes for the fun of it…** "

" **That's not the point! You know that stuff doesn't wash out**!"

" **Yes, I know it, because you tell me every time** ," Toothless grumbled.

" **If I get ridiculed for my appearance, I'm making you take a bath**."

" **HOLY SHEEP! I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY**!" And the dragon began to try and wipe the slime off his rider's suit. He pushed too hard and they both fell over, Toothless pinning the King to the ground.

" **Out of curiosity, since you were complaining about how Vikings smell, how do** _ **you**_ **manage to smell fine if you don't take baths**?" The King asked once he had stopped laughing.

" **It's my natural dragon hygiene**." Toothless replied proudly.

" **Right**." His friend turned to leave.

" **You do know this could be a trap, right**?"

" **Yes it could. Or it could not. There's only one way to find out, and I'm going to do that. Tonight, Berk reveals her true colors,** " he really wanted to believe they were just being overtly suspicious. But just in case, " **You remember what to do, yes**?"

" **Yes** ,"

He set off into the woods in the highest of spirits. They had intentionally taken their time arriving on Berk, so by now the sun was starting to set. The early evening air was cool and pleasant. Where there were shafts of sunlight poking through the trees, small groups of gnats were darting about. He noticed as he walked that a number of trees had thin but deep gouges in them about 5 feet up the trunk.

"Some things don't change, do they, Astrid?" he chuckled.

At the mention of her and changes, and as he got closer to the village, apprehension began to creep into his mind. He was about to see people who he wasn't certain he actually wanted to see. It had been different with the gathering of Chiefs. A lot of those people had been strangers to him his entire life, and he had had the advantage of surprise on his side. A hand slid to his helmet. He wouldn't reveal himself tonight. He wanted to let people adjust first and get used to his presence before he did. He knew, however, that he could not keep this charade up indefinitely, especially if he was compelled to remain on Berk for a while to help them integrate dragons. Sooner or later somebody would see him with him mask off, or maybe even pull it off. He thought of what Drago or Dagur would do once word got out of his identity. He had little doubt that they might try to use his identity as leverage against him, but his hope had always that by that point it would not matter. He had planned to have Drago and his power base finished once and for all, and had hopes, which granted were shrinking daily, that Dagur could be changed, or perhaps the Berserkers would grow tired of his antics and overthrow him.

"Still, if Berk has dragons and those men don't," he said to himself, "that should guarantee the safety of everybody. I'd feel much better if I knew Astrid and Gobber had a dragon guarding them every night. So once my identity is revealed, the key to their safety will be to ensure dragons don't fall into the wrong hands. We're already doing that, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'll have to talk to him about it—oh gods, I'm going to have an actual talk with him! Now when was the last time that happened? I honestly can't remember." The prospect of having a one on one talk with Chief Stoick added to the apprehension he already felt.

"On the other hand," he mused, "I'll get to see Gobber. I was a bit disappointed that he wasn't at the gathering of Chiefs, but I should have realized he wouldn't be. I hope I get the chance to talk to him. And Fishlegs…it'll be nice to see him too, I guess," He frowned. "And then there's Snotlout and his father, and Mildew and Dogsbreath. The Twins I can handle, I think. But Mildew? I seriously can't understand why he wasn't banished decades ago. I mean, couldn't somebody else plant the cabbages?" He looked at a tree as if it was a person. "You'd be a more pleasant cabbage planter, you know that? Talking to trees…maybe I'm going crazy…all this living away from humans, yep." Laughing, he picked his way over some boulders and proceeded onwards.

As he got closer to Berk he noticed it was far too quiet. He could hear birds singing, true, but nothing else. No hustle and bustle from the village, no shouting and swearing, no clanging of tools, and no explosions caused by the Twins. His only conclusion was that everyone must be in Mead Hall waiting for him, and that thought made him even more nervous. Having a one on one talk with the Chief was going to be interesting enough, to put it mildly, but now he guessed he'd have to make an appearance in front of the entire village. And while on second thought he realized he should have guessed that earlier, it was not something he had wanted to do here. He'd never spoken to such a large group of humans before. What if they all just started laughing at him? What if they didn't listen? What if he made a complete fool of himself in front of them?

"It's for the dragons," he told himself, "and for peace. I can do this."

Inside Mead Hall, where the entire village was gathered, Snotlout rushed over to Stoick shouting "he's coming, he's coming!"

Stoick quickly stood up at the podium and waved his hand for silence. "Snotlout, Spitelout, get ready! All right, listen up everyone! I want you to read this parchment silently. This is what the plan is for tonight."

The sun was almost down when he finally reached the edge of the village. His theory that everyone was in Mead Hall was confirmed by what he saw. Aside from the Hall in the town center, whose windows were warmly lit and bright, the rest of the place was deserted. Silence dominated, except for a faint drone he could hear from Mead Hall.

"Hasn't changed too much," he observed, "though I think the timbers on those houses look a bit worn…" He took a deep breath. "All right, I can do this."

He slowly walked to the entrance of Mead Hall. A guard was standing there. With a jolt he realized he was looking at Gustav Larson. A decade ago he'd been one of Snotlout's disciples and had the second or third worst crush on Astrid Hofferson. A little shrimp of a kid back then, but now he had gotten a lot taller and a little more muscular. He still wore his old necklace, though.

"Evening," the King said quietly.

"You're the Dragon King, I take it?"

"That would be correct. I believe I'm expected?"

Gustav laughed, "Oh yes, you're expected. Everyone's in there waiting. Here, I'll go ahead and announce you."

'That's a bit unusual,' the King thought, 'they usually don't announce people at these kinds of things…but then I am the guest of honor.'

Gustav returned. "Come on in, your Majesty,"

"Really," the King said as he followed him inside, "there's no need to call me—"

He had a split second glimpse of a crowd and wooden tables when a heavy net dropped onto him.

 **Authors note: You're all going to hate me for ending the chapter like this, aren't you? Next update will be Sunday September 18th.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **And now for the chapter you've all been waiting for:**

 **Chapter 14**

 **The Truth Comes Out**

Snotlout erupted in glee. "I caught him! I caught him!"

"Good job, lad," Stoick said approvingly, "now, let's get him—"

The King roared and all of a sudden the net on him burst into flames. There was a cutting sound and the King emerged from the burning net with one of his gauntlets smoking. His fake leg had been switched with a long ice axe blade. He quickly flipped it so the leg returned to its normal function, and rushed out the door. At the same time the chains that the giant skewered metal dragon hung from were snapped by a Terrible Terror and the hall's centerpiece came crashing down onto a score of the Vikings below it. Then Fireworms crawled out of the great bonfire and set parts of the floor blazing before vanishing back into the firewood.

Stoick, who had not been hurt by the crash, was the first to recover from the surprise. "Put those fires out, quickly! And after him! I want him alive! After him!"

The King had only gone a few feet from the hall when he ran smack into Gobber.

"Sorree I'm late but—what?"

"Sorry Gobber, but I think dinner is canceled!" the King whipped around him but the delay had been costly. The Villagers were right behind him now, with Stoick in the lead. The King raced down a path between houses, rounded a corner, then another and another, hoping to lose them. Then he came to a stone wall.

"Thought this might happen," he muttered to himself, "wish it hadn't, but we can at least give them some entertainment tonight,"

He looked left and right, spotted a large shed, and quickly climbed on top of it by utilizing a barrel. The second he started climbing he was spotted, which did not bother him to much since he knew Stoick wanted him alive. The mob instantly changed direction and before he knew it the shed was surrounded. He crouched down to minimize the target and maintain his balance.

"We've got him!" he heard Stoick say, "keep me covered!"

"No, Stoick!" Spitelout shouted, "Snotlout will go up there!"

"Me?" Snotlout cried, "I mean, sure, but it would be much…smarter to bring assistance. Dogsbreath, Fish, you guys come with me!"

"You go first!" Dogsbreath cried.

"What's the matter, Berk?" The King shouted loudly, "Afraid to come up here and face me? I've gotten you to show your true colors tonight, are you too afraid to go any further now? Afraid I might have a hundred dragons within calling distance at this very moment?" He was bluffing a little on that last part, but they did not need to know that. The bluff did not seem to faze them, for Spitelout again shouted:

"Snotlout, git up there!"

"Fishlegs, get up there and I'll be right behind you!"

"Oh for the love of—I'll go up!" The King could not help but feel like he'd been punched in the stomach. The voice had belonged to Astrid.

She climbed up onto the roof and he glared at her like an angry tiger in a cage. "And I thought you were on my side!" He snarled.

She shrugged coldly. "Orders are orders. The Chief ordered us to take you alive; I've got to do this. Cooperate and this will be a lot easier for you. And I don't want any help!" She shouted downwards, for several Vikings had begun trying to climb up to join her. "I can handle this! Just let me talk to him!"

"Oh yes, let's talk. Do you want to have me come over for _dinner_?"

Astrid pointed her axe at him. "Don't make this harder than it has to be! You've got no way out now, so are you going to come quietly or not?"

"Come where?" he asked, playing for time. A new idea was forming in his mind.

"To the cells. I give you my word as a Shield Maiden you'll be treated fairly if you agree to come. If not…"

The person he had placed so much faith in was trying to threaten him into surrendering. His hand went down to his belt.

"If you're going to fight, I won't hold back," Astrid warned him.

"I'll keep that in mind," he snapped. He held up a sword hilt.

"You're seriously going to fight me with that?" Astrid asked incredulously.

"Yep!" He swung it downwards and a blade engulfed in flames shot out from the hilt. In the darkness the fire burned menacingly against his black figure. He smirked at Astrid's astonished expression. "You're move, Hofferson!"

Astrid bit her lip. "I don't want any help!" She repeated to the crowd, "It has to be a fair fight." With a sudden cry she charged towards him, swinging her axe. With rapid speed he blocked it. Fire and steel collided again and again. She ducked and he swung, she lunged and he blocked, back and forth.

For the villagers down below it was truly spectacular seeing their model Viking fighting a demon lover with a flaming sword, and they cheered accordingly.

"Get him Astrid!"

"Beat him to a pulp!"

"That's my Successor!" Stoick shouted, which prompted Snotlout and Spitelout to glare at him.

Suddenly she slipped her leg under the Kings and tripped him. He slid down the roof but stopped himself before he fell off. He climbed back up like a raccoon, only for her to ram into him and pin him against the rooftop.

"Do you have a plan of escape?" Astrid whispered to him.

"What makes you think I'd tell _you_?" He spat as he tried to push her off. She pressed harder and kept him pinned down.

"I'm trying to help you!"

"By fighting me?"

"By buying you time and keeping everyone else off your back!" She suddenly stood up and said loudly "you can't beat me and you know it! Just surrender!"

"Not likely," he replied, then he lowered his voice, "and that acting sounded a bit fake!"

"Was it? Why you son of a half troll bilge rat dung bucket—!" She was shouting again

"Better," he intentionally tripped, and Astrid leapt on top of him. They began to wrestle while trying to not slide off the roof.

In the woods nearly a dozen dragons were watching nervously. Their orders were to just come when he called for them, but so far he had not called. They could not figure out why not. Then one of them pointed out movement over by the docks.

"Why haven't you called for backup, if you've really got some?" Astrid shouted in a jeering tone, but deep down she was genuinely curious. She swung her axe again and he blocked it. "Afraid they might get hurt?"

"It's you guys that need to worry about getting hurt!" He laughed. "Look to the sea!"

Stoick spun around and saw to his horror that Scauldrons had risen out of the ocean and were blasting boiling water at a Berkian ship in the harbor. Those ships were indispensible for Berk's survival and if they were all destroyed…

"Save the ships!" he screamed, "drive the dragons off and save the ships!"

" **All right boys that will do**!" The King shouted. There was no need to destroy every ship. He was not that destructive. But it made for a nice distraction. He pushed Astrid into the roof tiles. She was up in an instant but he was already running to the edge of the roof.

"Come back and fight!" She shouted, wishing she could add 'I'm really sorry about all this, I didn't know!', but he had already leapt off the roof, had landed on the top of the wall that had blocked him earlier, jumped off of that, and was racing to the Chief's house.

"After him!" Stoick shouted.

"I'll get him, Chief!" Astrid roared, "Nobody just leaves a fight with me and gets away with it!"

The King seized a cart and pressed a hand to one gauntlet. Fire spewed from the gauntlet and torched the cart, which he then shoved downhill towards the advancing mob.

"Run for it!"

"Put it out!" Stoick shouted quickly, "put it out before the fire spreads! You lot, get buckets and put it out! The rest of you come with me!" Raising his hammer he led them up to his house. The King had already managed to climb onto the roof and was proceeding to climb onto the second level.

"Surround the house!" Stoick ordered, "You lot, start climbing after him! Spitelout, take some men inside and block the stairs! He can't escape us now!" He looked upwards, picking out the Kings silhouette against the night sky, and felt a sense of satisfaction. Astrid was beside him looking anxious.

"He leaves one roof to get stuck on another?" she cried.

"Don't worry lass, we've got him! And I'll let you two have a rematch later on in the Arena if you want! That way there'll be no doubt as to who's the superior fighter!"

Gobber caught up to them panting and groaning. "Ah'm too beat up for this kinda thing!"

"Don't worry, Gobber, it's over now. Look, we've got him surrounded!"

But then they heard a sound they had not expected to hear. The Dragon King was laughing. It sounded like the laugh of a maniac. "Surrounded? HA! You and what army?" Indeed, many of the villagers had gone off to put out the fires.

"Now, shall I call for someone to pick me up?" The King asked himself as he looked around thoughtfully. "Nah,"

Gobber stared up at the King silhouetted against the night sky. He had a feeling in his stomach that he had seen a ghost; a ghost that was now raising its hands.

"Is he surrendering?" Astrid cried wildly.

"No 'e's…say, what's that stuff between 'is arms?"

The King suddenly broke into a run and leapt off the house.

"He's crazy!" Astrid screamed, "He's crazy, he's… _flying_!" And indeed he was. The Dragon King had leapt off the roof and, with the air of large leather fins attached to his suit, glided right over their heads and disappeared into the woods.

There was a stunned silence. Just about every villager was staring and gaping with their mouths wide opened. Then Fishlegs broke the silence and shouted the question everybody was thinking.

"What _is_ he?"

The only answer to this was a Night Fury roar.

"NIGHT FURY!"

"GET DOWN!"

"Get up and get him, you fools!" Stoick shouted, "He's calling for his pet! And you lot get those fires put out, now!" He hurried down to the edge of the woods. "Bring bows and we'll—" He stopped in his tracks. The Dragon King was standing in between two trees, arms folded. He looked like he was ready to breathe fire. After what she had just witnessed, Astrid couldn't help but believe he might have devised the means to do so.

"Why?" he demanded.

Stoick advanced, but leapt back when a cloud of fire burst in front of him, nearly lighting his beard on fire.

"I've got Zippleback gas in my gauntlets, and don't think for one moment they're empty!" The King shouted. "And before anybody thinks of slipping into the woods and sneaking up on me, there are over a dozen dragons hiding behind me, and they'll see you before you see them!" This last was said because he had spotted Spitelout about to try that very tactic. His words caused Spitelout to stop in his tracks and back away.

"Why?" the King yelled. "I offered you peace, and you decided to pull this! I would have made Berk the most wonderful place in existence, and you threw away the chance! I thought this might be a trap, but I wanted to believe you were better than that, so for the third and final time: WHY?"

"Your Night Fury killed my son," Stoick growled, "Do you expect me to ally myself with the murderer of my boy?"

" _That's_ what this is about? You risked the entire safety of your village to kill one _dragon_? Hope you like burnt ships then! I could burn this entire village to the ground if I wanted too—you're really pushing your luck here! And—how many times do I have to say it?—Toothless did NOT kill Hiccup!"

"I say he did." Stoick said firmly, "I never believed that story you fed Astrid! My son would never have let you take him away from his home!"

"How much do you wanna bet on that?"

Stoick ignored him, "Besides, we need you and those dragons."

"And thought to drop a net on me instead of, oh I don't know, _asking_? Oh I get what you're after! You're hardly the first to think it! Take me prisoner and then use me to make the dragons do your bidding, was that it?"

Stoick's face for once betrayed him, for it clearly showed that the King was right. There were murmurs from the crowd. Virtually none of them had known about this plan at all, until they had read that parchment. Until that moment had arrived Astrid herself had believed the Chief was going to accept dragons. But when the Chief shouted 'stop him' they had naturally responded. As Astrid had said, orders were orders.

The King clenched his fists. "That idea came from Spitelout, I'm guessing, and it's got more holes in it than a piece of pumice! You're really dumb, you know that? Dumb to think I would trust you lot blindly!" He knew that he almost _had_ trusted them blindly, but not any longer, he promised himself, "What makes you think the dragons would bow down to you just because you hold me hostage? You claim to hate dragons and want revenge and to wipe them out, yet you're not trying to enslave them to serve you? You can't have it both ways, Stoick! Heck, you're not even going to get it one way! You might not have noticed, but I'm not exactly your prisoner, am I?" He kicked a rock as if to demonstrate his freedom. "So you lied to me, thinking to lure me here and imprison me, force the dragons do your bidding, and kill my best friend. I'd expect better from Alvin the Treacherous—at least _he_ doesn't make any pretensions about having morals!"

"How dare you! You live among monsters and demons and threaten us with them! It's thanks to dragons that we've lived in fear and struggled for centuries, instead of prospering! You live with the filth that killed my wife, and you ride the beast that killed my son! Is that not enough reason to want to capture you?"

"It might be if it was true, but it isn't! Dragons are much better creatures than you give them credit for, and for the final time: TOOTHLESS DID NOT KILL YOUR SON!"

"AND FOR THE FINAL TIME, HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?"

The King clenched his fists. He was shaking with rage now.

"I warned Astrid of the consequences this might have." He said darkly, "but if this is what it'll take to convince you—you've brought this upon yourselves." As his voice rose his hand went up to his helmet. "You're so _desperate_ to know what really happened to Hiccup, aren't you! Honestly, you must be the biggest bunch of idiots to not have figured it out already! Have I really been gone that long that you all forgot what my voice sounds like? Didn't I give out enough hints as to who I was? Did you need me to 'gesture to all of me'? You want to know how I know Toothless didn't kill Hiccup? Because if he had killed Hiccup, then how in the name of Helheim would you explain _this_?" He pulled off his helmet and the mask that was underneath it.

Stoick dropped his hammer. Astrid felt her axe slide out of her grasp and closed her eyes. Gobber's mouth dropped opened, and just about everybody else who could see him screamed in astonishment.

The face of the Dragon King had a few short scars along it, but these made it look rather handsome, in a rugged way. Or at least it would if his expression was one of pure fury. The sweaty auburn hair was above the shoulders. His eyes were a usually lovely shade of forest green that looked dark and menacing in the firelight. This was a face nobody had seen in eight years, and had never imagined they would ever see again. The face of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the long believed deceased son of Chief Stoick the Vast.

"There!" He shouted, "You wanted to know what I look like! Now you know! Your old punching bag 'Hiccup the Useless' is the Dragon King!" He looked around. "What's the matter? No sneers and taunts for me? No orders to get inside? Why for a moment I'd have thought you guys have gotten soft!"

"H—Hiccup?" Stoick's voice was suddenly very hoarse.

"Oh, he can talk, can he? And he's actually talking to _me_! I might just die of shock!"

"You're—alive? But—how?"

"Do you mean 'how am I still alive', or 'how did Useless survive 8 years living in the wilderness'? Don't bother answering that, I was being rhetorical."

'Rhetoria what?" Snotlout whispered to his father, who shrugged. Hiccup shifted back and forth angrily.

"You know, you were technically correct—congratulations—a Night Fury _did_ carry me off. But did you never think that maybe he carried me off because I _allowed_ him to? I ran away. Even when Astrid gave you that story, you still couldn't believe it, could you? You Vikings are so blinded and stubborn you can't ever think of anything that falls outside of your own opinions! You look shocked, I see." He was looking only at Stoick. "You'll be asking 'why' now. Remember the last major raid Berk ever had? The night I claimed I shot down a Night Fury and nobody believed me? Well, I was telling the truth. I shot him down—the worst thing I ever did while on Berk—and I found him tied up in the woods that morning. Yes, I did, and I had him entirely at my mercy!" He had not intended to tell this story, but he was so angry he wanted to let it all out in one giant blow. He _wanted_ to see Stoick hurt when he learned he had chosen a Night Fury over his own family.

"You—shot a Night Fury down?" Stoick was thunderstruck and it took him a minute before he got out the words "but—why didn't you tell me?"

"DID YOU NOT JUST HEAR WHAT I SAID?" Hiccup roared. He forced himself to calm down and spoke in a softer tone but no less angry tone. "I told you, you dismissed it, so I found him myself. And then I did the best thing I ever did while on Berk. I refused to kill him and I set him free."

"You WHAT?" Stoick shouted, and other people had similar reactions. "You set a dragon free to ravage and destroy my island? What were you thinking? It could have killed all of us!"

"And it didn't, did it? But I didn't stop there—oh no! You're going to just _love_ this part! I befriended him! I gave him the means to fly again! And he taught me a few tricks too—tricks that made me the biggest star in Berk for a time!" He would shatter the illusion once and for all now.

Astrid was hanging onto every word, and she knew she was not the only one. She suddenly remembered the day when Hiccup had driven back a Zippleback without even touching it.

Stoick spoke slowly but dangerously. "You—you're saying that everything you did in Dragon Training was all a bunch of TRICKS?"

"You didn't seem to mind too much then. You saw what you wanted to see and ignored everything else—a bit of a common failing among all of us it seems!"

"You were succeeding for the first time! Why couldn't I be happy for you?"

"Or were you just happy for yourself and your reputation? You know, I was told you were upset by my perceived death. I've often wondered if you were upset because your only son was dead, or was it because the son you thought you finally had was gone just when you were starting to like him?"

"I—"

"And you know what the really ironic thing is about all of this? None of it would have _ever_ happened if you had believed me that night after the raid! But I'm glad you didn't. Know why? Because for the very first time in nearly a decade, I had a real friend."

Nobody had been paying any attention to Fishlegs during this time, but he had been a few paces behind Stoick. At those last words he flinched.

"And then everything seemed ready to fall apart when I was chosen to kill the Monstrous Nightmare. I knew that was never going to happen. So, Toothless and I left. Yes, we left. And that very night we found the dragon nest at Helheim's Gate." He shifted his position a little. "I did consider telling you about it, but I realized you'd kill Toothless and probably never believe me anyway, so, with a little help from the dragons you were keeping here, Toothless and I led a revolt against the Red Death. But you already know that part." He glanced down at his fake leg. Stoick looked appalled.

"You lost a leg because of those beasts and you still sided with them?" He shouted.

"Better a bit of the leg than a life." Hiccup shrugged. "I lost my whole childhood because of you Vikings. I made a new leg for myself, but I can't get those 15 years back. So overall, dragons have hurt me less than Berk did."

"Those monsters killed your MOTHER!"

"A mother I've never known! You never talked about her! I don't even know what she looked like—how can I use her as an excuse to kill dragons? And did I not ask you once how many mothers you've killed trying to avenge Valka? Have those deaths brought you any consolation, Stoick? How many more will you get killed because you can't let go of something?" He looked at the crowd, "how many more villagers are you all going to get killed because you can't accept the truth even when it's right in front of you?"

Stoick now was so stunned by what he was hearing that he seemed to be in a daze, unable to notice anything or anyone. Snotlout, on the other hand, had gotten over his shock and was now indignant. "So you're telling me _Useless_ is the Dragon King?" he shouted to the crowd.

"I believe I said that earlier."

Snotlout ignored him. "The most pathetic guy in the world thinks he controls dragons! Those beasts must be a lot dumber than we thought to let such an idiot live with them! I mean, give me a break! Nobody in their right mind would ever bow to a wimpy little worm like Hiccup!" He strolled forward cockily, "you seem to have forgotten your place in your absence. Here, let me remind you!" He raised a fist.

Hiccup touched his gauntlet and flames burst towards his old tormentor.

"GAH! You—you little devil you—I could have been burned to death!" Snotlout screamed when he'd gotten clear of the fire.

"You know, you've often said 'I've never seen anyone mess up that badly.'" Hiccup said dully, "As if you've done any better."

"Oh yeah? Come and fight me like a man, Useless!" Snotlout raised his hammer and charged, ignoring Stoick's order to stop. Almost lazily, Hiccup whipped out his sword, sliced Snotlout's hammer in two, and grabbed his cousin by the neck.

"If you're the perfect Viking then all the snails on the continent can be considered Vikings!" He threw Snotlout to the ground, "I got even with you when I told Astrid about your theft and bribes. You're not worth any more of my time so scram, before I set your rear on fire!"

Snotlout squeaked and scampered into the crowd. By this point the shock was beginning to wear off and reactions were setting in. Most of them weren't good and Hiccup knew it.

"Well, I think I've had enough of Berk's hospitality for one night, so I'll be going now," He announced. At that moment nearly 20 dragons emerged from the woods behind him, including Toothless. The Vikings backed away quickly.

" **Well, well, well, couldn't miss the excitement, could you guys? I'm surprised at you, Grimm. I thought I told you last night you guys were to stay back as an auxiliary rescue team.** "

" **We came because we were concerned about you**." Shamrock explained,

" **So can we burn this village to the ground now**?" The Skrill demanded impatiently.

" **I think enough has happened for one night, don't you?** " The King replied wearily. " **Let's just be** —"

"Traitor!" Mildew suddenly shouted, and there was a low rumble of agreement. Hiccup froze in his tracks. His anger began to mount again. An entire lifetime of pent up rage and pain would not be contained any longer.

"Ah…we come to that, now, do we? You call me a traitor…perhaps I am. But perhaps now…" now his face contorted with fury again. "Traitor, am I? What was I betraying? The beliefs of the tribe that hated me, beat me, laughed at me, spat at me, made me the butt of every joke, rejoiced at my apparent death and wished it had only come sooner? So I'm guilty of treason, am I? WELL THEN YOU'RE ALL GUILTY OF ABANDONMENT!" He pointed to Gobber, "Except you! You were the only person who showed any compassion for me. As for the rest of you, consider this: a dragon, the creature you've proclaimed to be a mindless killing machine, showed more kindness to me in a month, than the rest of you showed in FIFTEEN YEARS!" He was nearly screaming now. "I didn't betray Berk! I was never part of Berk to begin with, as you always made it clear to me! You, Fishlegs, what did you say when we were about seven? 'Snotlout says I shouldn't hang out with you anymore.' You, Astrid, told me that I was the nicest person you ever knew—it would have been nice if you could have done the same for me when I was still 'alive,' instead of always ignoring me! You might as well know: that night when you were lost and met that Zippleback, until I got there I had no idea it was you I'd come to help. But you…" he pointed to Stoick, "You were the worst of them all! What was it you said? 'All those years as the worst Viking Berk has ever seen.' And it gets even better! I can still recall like it was yesterday you saying 'I wish he had been the one taken instead of Valka!'"

Astrid stared at her chief in shock. She had never known about that. It took Stoick every ounce of self control to keep his voice level. "I—I was drunk!"

"That's a lie and you know it! I checked myself that night because I was hoping you were! I found out you only had a single mug of mead that night and I know perfectly well it took at least three in those days to get you to start feeling intoxicated!"

Fishlegs was at first impressed at this information, and then shocked. Hiccup as a child had worked out how much it took to get his father drunk.

"I—I—"

"Save it, Stoick. You're only making it worse for yourself. I get it: you didn't want me, and you still don't. So I'll grant you your wish." He whistled. "You can consider any ties between our tribes ended. **Let's go, Bud**!"

Taking care to keep facing the Vikings, Hiccup climbed onto the Night Fury.

Stoick could not contain himself anymore. "YOU'RE NOT MY SON! YOU NEVER WERE MY SON, YOU DEVIL LOVER!"

Hiccup's face was unreadable. "I figured that out a long time ago, Stoick. And I would like to add this: you were never my father!"

Rage boiled in Stoick uncontrollably. He seized the spear Spitelout was holding and flung it with all his might straight into Hiccup's shoulder.

Toothless screamed. Hiccup clenched the saddle as tightly as he could, his face screwed up in pain.

"Go!" he shouted before clenching his teeth shut.

Stoick stared at the spot they had vacated, transfixed by what had just happened. He looked down at his hand as if it did not belong to him.

Astrid wanted to scream at him. Gobber was screaming at him but Stoick seemed unaware of it. Fishlegs wanted to scream at everyone. So did Snotlout, but that was because his hammer had been destroyed. And others were screaming too, pointing at a handful of fires still to be put out and a flock of dragons gathering on a nearby seastack off the coast.

Toothless stopped minutes later on said seastack; the rest of the dragons were right behind him. Hiccup slumped off of him onto the ground, the spear still in his shoulder and a lot of blood seeping out around it.

" **Hiccup**!"

" **Don't—call—** " Hiccup moaned.

Various dragons were panicking and screaming, one shouted: " **What do we do? What do we do? We can't leave it there, but if we remove it he'll bleed to—and he's already doing that now! What do we do? What do we do**?"

" **Stop it**!" Toothless roared. He had been shocked too but the panic of the others brought him to his senses. " **We need to get that spear out of him now! Persephone, hold his head. Midnight, hold his left arm, Grimm, take the right. Evictus, sit on his legs. Shamrock, when I tell you to, you pull the spear out. As soon as it's out I'll start licking it. Got it? The rest of you, watch Berk and keep us covered!** "

They nodded collectively and took their positions. Toothless swallowed.

" **Pull**!"

Shamrock seized the spear in his claws and pulled. Immediately the flow of blood increased. Hiccup was barely coherent now; the only thing he noticed was the pain he was in. As soon as the spear was out of the way Toothless began licking the wound, an effort that was not helped Hiccup's screams and flailing, nor by the armor that covered most of it.

" **He's still bleeding**!" Midnight shouted.

" **The stupid armor's in the way**!" Toothless growled.

" **Shamrock, take over for me**!" Evictus ordered. With the Treejumper preventing Hiccup from moving his legs, Evictus darted over to the boy's torso and carefully ran a claw down the armor, splitting it apart. He and Toothless then ripped the armor and clothes off of Hiccup's chest, allowing easy access to the wound.

" **Is it better now**?" Shamrock asked. Toothless ignored him and went on licking the wound.

A loud noise and flashes of light made all the dragons jump and look at Berk. It looked like the Vikings were lighting the large torches that lined the watchtowers, something they only did during night attacks.

" **Do you think they've seen us**?" Grimm asked.

" **If they have, it'll only take one lucky shot to finish him—and us. We've got to get him out of here**!" Midnight urged. **"Is he strong enough to travel?"**

Toothless, who had been licking the wound even more frantically, snapped his head up. " **Anyone not holding onto him go take out those catapults, or distract them, or burn a ship or two! I don't care, just buy us some time and be careful**!"

For the first time in 8 years Berk was getting a dragon raid, but Toothless's order to be careful kept most of the dragons from going the full distance. They were content to hover just out of arrow range and swoop around while the Vikings tried to bring them down. A decade ago a raid of this size would have been put down easily, but the Vikings were a bit out of practice and their defenses were not in the best shape.

Stoick was screaming orders left and right, while Gobber was following him trying to get him to stop. Stoick himself was more concerned with trying to drive the dragons away and putting out the fires; he probably did not even realize that the catapults were aiming at the seastack the injured Hiccup was on. All Stoick saw was a group of dragons on a seastack that had to be driven off.

Then two Gronkles flung themselves into the roof of Mead Hall and made it cave in. The Thorsten Twins threw themselves onto the ground and began worshiping the wreckage before them.

"All Hail the Dragon King, the True Creator of Destruction and the True Disciple of Loki!"

Up on the seastack Hiccup finally stopped jerking about. " **Is he stable enough now**?" Grimm shouted.

" **Chance it**!" Toothless shouted back. " **Get him on my back—GENTLY**!"

It took them a few minutes of bickering to figure out how to do that. Finally Grimm and Persephone picked him up in their claws, lifted him into the air, and then lowered him onto the Night Fury. They had barely finished when another boulder flew at them. This one was considerably lower than the last one had been.

" **I was hoping we were out of range**!" Midnight groaned,

" **They won't miss next time**!" Shamrock yelled.

" **They will if we aren't here**!" Toothless replied, " **Let's go**!" He shouted the orders to retreat.

Less than a minute after they had taken off a boulder smashed right into the sea stack. Less than a minute after that had happened every dragon had vanished into the night.

As soon as the Dragons were gone and the fires were put out, Gobber had gone right up to Stoick in the square and shouted "'Ow could ya do such a thing?"

"What?"

"Ya know wat I mean! Ya jest killed yer own son! Ah know the two of ye haven't seen eye ta eye much, but ah didn't think it was bad enuff fer ya ta do somethin' like _that_!"

Stoick just looked at him like a duck that had been hit on the head.

"Wat were ya thinkin'? I thought ya wanted 'im back!"

"My son—is dead, so he can't come back, now can he?"

"And whose fault is that?" Nobody on Berk knew if Hiccup had died of his wound or not, but most assumed (and men like Spitelout most likely hoped) that he had.

Spitelout joined them. "That man made 'is choices. 'E betrayed us and jained the enemy. Lookit wot they just did ta Berk! There's only one punishment, Gobber!"

"And why did 'e decide to side with dragons? Who drove 'im to that? Ya 'eard 'im, if 'e betrayed us we asked fer it by abandoning 'im!"

"Leave me alone!" Stoick shouted frantically, "I need time to think about this!" He tried to look authoritative, but the fact was he only beginning to come to truly realize what had just happened.

But Gobber had known Stoick long enough to not be too intimidated by him. "All right, supposin' the King wasn't 'Iccup, even so, 'ow could ya do that to 'im? Where was the Viking 'honor' in sending fake notes to 'im and tryin' to capture 'im? Lookit what happened because of it!" He gestured to the parts of Berk. Many ships were badly damaged, a number of defenses were destroyed, and Mead Hall was almost completely ruined. "Did ya not think that maybe those dragons wouldn't like it? That maybe they'd come fer revenge, even if ya caught 'im? And fer what? What could we 'ave gained from 'im as a prisoner that we wouldn't 'ave gained from 'im as an ally?"

Spitelout shouted back "Why would we a-lie with them beasts? I'd not object to controlling them and using them, but I'll never a-lie with them!"

"They killed my _wife_!" Stoick suddenly bellowed.

"And wat 'bout the wives 'ere now? Did ya think of _them_ before ya risked condemning all of 'em to death? Ya lied to the Dragon King, tried to capture 'im, and killed 'im. Ah reckon those dragons will wanna destroy Berk for this, and if they don't soon it'll be a miracle! That's what yer revenge has done fer us, Stoick! That an' not treatin' yer son fairly!"

"That boy—"

"That boy was a nice lad an' a brilliant blacksmith! That's more than ah ken say for the man that was supposed to raise 'im!" With that Gobber stormed away. Stoick watched him go impassively.

His plan could not be kept secret any longer, but he left Spitelout to tell it to everyone. They gathered in the Village center and learned in more detail that the intention had been to capture the Dragon King alive to use for leverage and as a hostage, and that virtually nobody had been told until the last minute so that no eavesdropping dragons could give the plan away. Stoick then told them, in an emotionless tone, that they would rebuild as they always had done, and that he never wanted to hear his son mentioned again.

But as morning dawned Stoick walked through the village alone. As he walked he looked upon the homes and structures that had escaped the damage. Some of them he had built himself. As he stared at them he felt it had all been for nothing; that these buildings, and the rest of Berk which he had built over the years, would all fall apart and be destroyed soon, just as the roof of Mead Hall had been. The dreams and ambitions that had consumed his thoughts a week ago suddenly seemed foolish and hopeless now. He felt like a man who was starting to sober up and was wishing he had never gotten drunk to begin with. And it was all because he had never understood his only child. And he could not stop the tears flowing down his cheeks. Dear Odin, what had he done?

It was not easy getting six dragons into Hiccup's room, but Toothless refused to leave his side, and the others were eager to find out what was happening. They gathered around Hiccup's bed and while Toothless explained as best as he could what had happened. In return Midnight explained their part in the night's events.

" **We had landed in a different part of the forest by the seashore. We had no idea of what was going on until we saw the fires at sea.** "

" **And then we knew for certain that it was all a trap**." Shamrock spoke with his teeth clenched.

" **I really hate it when I'm right in these matters** ," Grimm said bitterly. Toothless nodded and said with equal bitterness. " **And now they know who he is**."

" **But how did they pull this off without us knowing**?" Evictus shouted in frustration.

" **Those messages** ," Shamrock said darkly. " **The Chief was writing instructions for how to capture him. That's the only explanation I can think of**."

Illiteracy had always been a flaw in their scouting system, but since Vikings seldom wrote much that was of interest to them, and they could, in theory, intercept letters for The King to read, they haven't really had to worry much about it until now. The King had sometimes brought up the idea of teaching the Terrors how to read Norse runes, but he had never had the time and he was the only one there who could teach them.

" **We're fixing that as soon as he's better** ," Toothless announced determinedly.

" **I cannot understand** ," Persephone moaned, " **why do humans act in such fashions? His own sire tried to capture and murder him**!"

" **Humans** ," Grimm scoffed, " **if it weren't for him, I'd never believe a human was capable of anything decent**."

They watched the rise and fall of Hiccup's chest. There was no peace or comfort on his face.

" **He passed out shortly after we started flying** ," Toothless mumbled, " **I lost count of how many times I thought he had died. And each time I thought he had—I started to think of what I would do without him—and I** _ **hate**_ **having to think of that**!" He moaned and hid his head beneath his paws. " **What would I do if he died? What would any of us do**?"

" **But he is not dead**." Persephone said gently, " **his recovery has begun and soon—** "

" **Soon we'll have to deal with Berk. Yet another enemy**." Midnight finished bitterly. " **They won't forget tonight** ,"

" **And just think! Less than a day ago we thought we were on the brink of success with everything**!" Shamrock stomped a foot.

" **And now things will be worse than before** ," Toothless said darkly, " **tonight's events won't go unnoticed. All of our enemies are going to hear about it within days. And who knows what will happen then.** "

Astrid was sitting on a barrel, staring out at the sunrise. She hated seeing Berk on mornings like these, after a raid when the smoke was still rising from destroyed structures. Fishlegs were standing nearby, looking at her strangely.

"Did you know about the plan?" he suddenly asked.

"What?"

"Did you know Stoick was planning that trap?"

She considered her answer first. "No. He never said a word about it to me." If she had she would have opposed it and tried to prevent it. Perhaps Stoick had suspected that. When he had announced that they were going to accept the King's Terms—Hiccup's Terms—she had believed him. That and gaining the Chiefdom had made her so happy those past days she had been oblivious to anything devious going on. She imagined Hiccup had felt the same way when he had gotten that letter.

Hours had passed since the return to the Sanctuary. Toothless refused to leave the room for any reason. The others flitted in and out, mostly to hunt and reassure other dragons, then returning to see how things were going, often bringing some fish with them for their Beta. Only Midnight and Toothless were present when Hiccup finally woke up.

" **Thank the worlds of ice**!" Midnight cried.

" **How are you feeling**?" Toothless asked urgently.

" **Horrible…what happened**?" Hiccup asked groggily. The two dragons exchanged uneasy looks.

" **How much do you remember**?" Toothless asked.

" **I…took off my mask…and then…** " he looked around and his eyes fell upon his shoulder. " **I'm guessing by the makeshift bandage job someone shot me**?"

" **Threw a spear at you, actually** ,"

" **Oh, well, that's all right…** " Hiccup leaned back and stared at the ceiling. Despite the long sleep, he looked and sounded exhausted. " **So Berk betrayed us, did they? Yes, they did. I'm starting to remember now. And I thought they were going to side with us…I thought things were going to change…I thought…** "

Toothless tried to sound optimistic. " **Well, it doesn't matter for the moment. What matters is you're alive, and you'll be right as rain in a few days**!" he hopped up onto the bed, nearly breaking it as he did so, and gave Hiccup a great big lick on the face.

" **Augh, Toothless**!" Hiccup playfully pushed the dragon away from him, and then winced. Toothless's playful mood vanished instantly.

" **Are you alright**?"

" **Fine, I'm just a bit…I feel kinda weird**."

" **Well, you've been through a lot and you're still recovering. Sorry, I shouldn't have made you exert yourself, I'm just really happy to see you're alive!** "

Hiccup petted his best friend sadly. " **It's nice to know someone in the world cares that I exist**." His memory was still a bit vague on what had happened, but what was coming back was not very encouraging for his morale.

" **Hey, we all do here! Speaking of which, Midnight, go let everyone know he's awake!"**

" **Did I lose any blood? I feel kinda woozy."**

Toothless laughed dryly, **"I imagine any spear wound would cause anyone to lose some blood."**

" **Oh right. You know, if I lost too much, maybe you could put some of your own into me. Then we'd be blood brothers and I'd be part dragon! I could record my condition and leave it for posterity. Of course, who knows if that's what would actually happen? And if I turned into a dragon I wouldn't need you anymore, so that wouldn't be much fun for either or us—"**

" **He's rambling,"** Midnight whispered to Toothless.

" **Give him a few minutes. He's in his analytical mindset right now.** "

" **It would be the first time anyone's ever recorded such a thing. Hah! I'll bet Fishlegs would love to read that one day, and I'll bet the Twins would….would…** " he stopped. Memories were coming back to him. " **Toothless, Berk betrayed us, yes**?"

Toothless nodded reluctantly.

" **Tried to trap me and use me as a hostage to control dragons and make Berk the most powerful tribe in existence, yes?"**

" **Yes."**

" **I showed my face to them and told them the truth, yes**?"

" **Yes**."

" **I fought with Astrid…but I think that was staged for the most part. I wonder why she decided to do that. I fought with Snotlout; that was real. I nearly fought with my father…my father—and he threw a spear at me, yes**?" His voice was as hard and cold as metal now.

" **Yes."** Spoken like the hammer talking to the coffin it was pounding nails into.

Hiccup stared at the ceiling for a moment. Then, with a shrug and a groan, he heaved himself out of bed.

" **What are you doing? You shouldn't be—** "

" **Where are my clothes**?"

" **We kind of might have destroyed them trying to get them off of you**." Toothless admitted.

" **It's okay, I've got more**." He staggered to a chest and began putting clothes on. A simple loose shirt and a pair of pants were all he could get on the moment. His efforts to dress himself were accompanied by more groans and winces every time he moved his left arm or shoulder.

" **Hiccup, you really shouldn't—** "

" **Don't call me that**!" The Dragon King rounded on him. " **I've never liked that name! Don't use it**!"

" **Ok, ok**!" Both dragons shrank into a corner at the sudden outburst. The King put a hand to his forehead and swayed a little. Toothless came forward and looked him square in the face.

" **You need to rest** ," he ordered.

" **I'm fine, Bud."**

" **Like I'm going to believe that."**

He ignored him and mumbled to himself. " **I thought my flightsuit was strong enough to repell weapons. We've tested it against arrows before! Guess I didn't factor in an enraged Viking's throwing arm. Maybe the material was getting too worn. I probably would have been killed if I hadn't been wearing it. Well, I'll just have to build a better flightsuit.** "

He had a look at his desk. Digging through a pile of parchment he discovered the letters Stoick had written to him. He glared at them for a minute and crumpled them up.

" **Go ahead and burn these, Bud. We're finished with Berk."**

" **And the other Tribes**?"

The King turned to look at the wall and to learn on it. **"We're done with all Vikings. No more treaties and Peace Terms. From now on we're looking after our island and letting everyone else take care of their own problems, just like we were doing before that stupid council came about**."

" **That's a bit extreme, isn't it**?" Midnight asked carefully.

" **Maybe. I might relent later but for the moment—say, where's Inferno?"** He spoke with such calmness that Toothless suddenly knew it was not genuine. " **Ah, here it is. A very good blade, you know? You should have seen their faces when I pulled it out on that island**." He looked at the seemingly bladeless hilt and smiled, as if admiring the craftsmanship of it. Then his eyes hardened. His smile faded. His grip on the blade tightened. His entire body began to tremble. He ignited the blade and with a roar he slammed it into the wall over and over again, hacking away at the stone as if it was nothing. Sparks and chips of stone flew into the air. Again and again he struck, all the while screaming. He shouted and screamed and roared louder than Toothless had ever thought possible.

" **Hiccup**!"

" **Don't call me that! That's not my name. I have no name! I have no family, friends, or tribe who are human! I am a Dragon Trainer! Let those people tear each other to pieces—I want no part of it! I'm done with Vikings and Berk forever! They didn't want me anyway, so why should they care whose side I'm on**?"

Then, just as suddenly as he had begun, he stopped. He stepped back to look at the wall he had just destroyed. It was covered in deep gashes glowing orange and red. He abruptly pulled a wooden chest from under his bed and flung it opened. Inside it were some of the remaining possessions he'd had while living on Berk. He raised his sword.

" **Don't!"** Toothless shouted, knocking it out of his hands with his tail. **"If you destroy those you'll regret it later, you know that! And you won't be able to change it!"**

" **Why should I care? What are these but a bunch of reminders of a horrible life**?" He dug out a portrait he'd drawn of Astrid and the others kids his age. " **What is this but a pointless dream**?" He picked up a tiny axe. " **Here's a childhood gift from a father who never wanted me! Here's a journal full of all the names people have called me! Why should I keep any of these**?"

" **Because, horrible as they might be, they're a part of what made you the person you are today**."

" **And just who am I today, Toothless**?"

His face went from rage to uncertainty to heartbreak in a matter of seconds.

" **WHY**?"

He fell to the ground in a dead faint.

 **Authors Notes:**

 **A lot of people complained about the cliff hanger ending for the last chapter, so this time I took pity and spared you all another one. Originally this was two chapters and the dividing point was where Hiccup gets the spear thrown at him.**

 **I think everybody reads these 'Hiccup runs away' stories primarily for the big reveal moment. I hope my version was done satisfactorily. And just to clarify, this is not the end of this story. Not even close.**

 **Hiccup asks Stoick a question in this chapter that is based on my own thoughts when watching the first movie. In the scene immediately after Stoick disowns Hiccup, when he has that painful look on his face and reels backwards, I've sometimes wondered if Stoick is reacting that way because he's just lost his son or because he's just lost the son he thought he finally had? Or is it both?**

 **And to the reader called Aiacco: you mentioned in a previous review about a scene with Mildew and Snotlout not making sense. I would like to know exactly what you mean so I can correct this.**

 **Until next time, then!**


	15. Chapter 15

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **I was not prepared for so many glowing reviews with the previous chapter, and I have to admit posting the next chapter makes me rather nervous. I'm a little scared that sooner or later something will go wrong and everyone will be disappointed with what I've written. Still, here it is, so I hope you will all enjoy!**

 **To Aiacco: I did not find your review harsh at all, and I think you were right. I messed up, and now I shall fix it. The question should not be which of those two will Stoick believe more; the question should be why would Stoick listen to Snotlout after he had just ruined his chances of becoming chief? And yes, Kylo Ren has inspired some of Hiccup's behavior in this story.**

 **This story is rated T for some violence, some intense scenes, and some suggestive scenes**

 **Chapter 15**

 **Drago Bludvist**

The former son of Stoick the Vast often remarked that on Berk it snows nine months out of the year and hails the other three. While this was a bit of an exaggerated complaint from a teenage resident, the fact remained Berk would often get bad weather for long stretches, and not too long after the unmasking of the Dragon King, a storm was clearly approaching. For days the skies were eternally gray. Cold, menacing, and solid gray, like a piece of unpolished iron. The air sat around stagnant and heavy with tension, giving one the feeling that it was like a volcano waiting to erupt.

The tension in the air did not help the nerves of Berk's villagers. A few days after the failed capture of the Dragon King, a note was found attached to the door of the Chief's house. It had only two words written on it: ' _Nice Try_ '.

Those words sent a wave of fear through Berk seldom felt. There was no doubt as to who had sent it, and there could be no question anymore that he had survived somehow. What would come next was easy to imagine. Gobber had already predicted it. They had attempted and failed to capture and kill an enemy through deception and treachery. Given how that enemy had control over hundreds if not thousands of dragons (nobody had a clue as to the exact number) and also had plenty of reasons to hate Berk, there was little reason to expect any mercy. Most expected Berk to be destroyed so completely that there would be nothing left for Ragnarok. Waiting for that day to come increased the tension, for the fact that it hadn't only made things worse. It seemed that each passing day meant they were one day closer to the day of reckoning. The presence of a coming lighting storm in the sky encouraged that assumption.

After Astrid's return from the Dragon Sanctuary a handful of people had declared that nothing about the Dragon King could shock them anymore. It would have been more appropriate to say that now, after the Grand Shock to end all Shocks had taken place. Nobody had imagined in their wildest dreams that Hiccup had been the Dragon King all along, and even now some suggested maybe the Dragon King had kidnapped Hiccup and had forced him to pose as the King. Only those who suggested the theory took it even remotely seriously.

The fact that Hiccup was the King was more disturbing to most than what he had said to them or the fact that he had run away. Mildew, for example, insisted that only a weak and pathetic coward would run away from Berk, and since Hiccup was exactly that, they should not be surprised. "'E couldna take the pressure. 'E couldna man it up an' be a Viking," the old complainer had declared, an opinion the Jorgenson's had staunchly supported. This, however, did not improve the morale of the Vikings, for since Hiccup was not a Viking that meant he could not be expected to follow the Viking way, making him completely unpredictable.

"Abandoned us for dragons."

"Always said he'd come to no good."

"I wouldn't put it past 'im to murder us in our beds."

"Or bring the Scourge of Odin to our island."

"The Chief had the right idea."

"Hunt him down and kill him, that's what I say."

Those who took a more sympathetic view with Hiccup largely kept quiet about it. Among this handful Stoick the Vast was not to be counted as far as anyone could tell. He had attempted to shut himself up in his house, only to remember that his house contained things that reminded him too much of Hiccup, so he shut himself up in his brother's house, seldom leaving except to implement plans for the Island's defense. Like everyone else, in fact perhaps even more than anyone else, he expected an attack any day, and if it was to be their end, he was going to take as many dragons as he could with him. All of Berk's old dragon raid defenses, which had been largely gathering dust and rust during the past 8 years, were quickly renovated, replaced, and added to. Not to mention Mead Hall had to be completely rebuilt. There was little else they could do short of more diplomacy, which was deemed pointless at this stage.

Astrid trudged home that evening after a grueling day of teaching. Stoick had wanted things appear as normal as possible to reassure everyone that all was not lost or hopeless. Astrid had obeyed more to divert her thoughts than out of loyalty or obedience. Gone was the ease she had shown to her pupils two weeks prior. In its place was a merciless drill master.

All week training classes had gone later than ever before, students were going home crying or snappish, and it reached the point where many of them refused to show up at all. The drop in attendance did nothing to calm her down, however, and she drove her remain students even harder than ever. They exercised, practiced fighting techniques, target practice, and other tricks to improve accuracy, speed, balance, and reflexes, over and over again until most students were near collapse. Astrid had barely registered this, however. She was too angry. Then again, very few people on Berk were not in a good mood. The fear of an attack, the tension of the weather, and the scandalous behavior of their formerly deceased heir had set them all on edge; Stoick in particular was often in a bad mood. And nobody is ever cheerful when their leader is furious.

Snotlout caught up with her as she walked home. Of all the people on Berk, he had been one of the least concerned about recent events. On the contrary, he'd been very proud of the fact that he had been the one to drop the net on the King, and always seemed to overlook the fact that the King had broken right out of it.

"Hey babe!" He waved cheerfully. Astrid responded with a growl. "Listen, I just wanna tell you, I think you're right to be so hard on those little punks! They've gotta work to be as tough as you and I are, and you're so _hot_ when you're being so strict!"

If body temperature was determined by blood pressure, she would have been getting a lot hotter at that moment.

"Go away." She snapped.

"Your clothes get sweaty and cling to your body, and it looks so sexy, you know what I mean? Of course, it would be even better if those clothes came off, but I'll just have to wait a little—" Astrid seized him by the arm, swung him around her like a toy, and flung him into a wall.

"Leave…Me…ALONE!"

"Now that's what I call hot!" Snotlout moaned before fainting. Astrid stormed away, her mood not improved. She passed Fishlegs sitting on a barrel.

"Impressive."

"Go away."

"Yet he seems somewhat immune to every violent thing you do to him. Have you ever actually seriously injured him?"

"No, but I might just seriously injure you if you don't leave me alone!"

Remarkably, Fishlegs seemed unfazed. "It's always violence. Punch, stab, hit, beat, throw, twist, break, or all of the above until you're too tired to keep going. Is that the Chief we're going to get?"

"One more word out of you and I'll—"

"You'll what? Do to me what you just did to Snotlout? Sorry, Astrid, but you can't do anything to me that's worse than what I can do to myself."

Astrid whipped around to face him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that the guilt I'm feeling over Hiccup right now is far worse than anything you could physically do to me." He got down off the barrel. "Everything we did that night is making me sick! The trap, you fighting him, him telling us what we already knew, then the Chief trying to kill him…how did things ever come to that?"

"I don't know."

"You know, when you came back from his island, you seemed so eager to talk about dragons! When we were discussing living with them, the way you spoke gave me the impression that you wanted to take my side, but didn't want to risk ruining your reputation! Don't get me wrong, I understood _that_! I know you had an appearance to keep up to impress Stoick, but then you went and fought with Hiccup! But you know what? I think that was a bluff,"

Astrid paused. She had not told a soul that her duel with the Dragon King had been largely staged. Most had instead applauded her bravery and skill, claiming that the King had lost the fight by fleeing, and called him a coward. She was really starting to hate living a lie and felt horribly ashamed about it, but after what happened, the idea of telling the truth now terrified her. But she was not going to let Fishlegs tell it for her.

"I don't know what you're talking about. The Chief ordered us to catch him and I responded. I didn't know that was Hiccup." She lied coldly.

"You did, actually. I saw your face that night: you clearly were not surprised when he revealed himself! Ergo, you knew it was him and yet you kept quiet about it! Why?" He looked at her eagerly, probing the waters to find out for certain whose side she was on, "Maybe because you secretly agree with him? That would explain why you staged a fight. In which case, that means you like dragons! But you say you didn't know that was Hiccup. All right, I'll play your game. That means you turned against a man who had done absolutely no harm to you and whom you appeared to be siding with not too long ago! But I guess turning against people is something we're good at!" he added in disgust.

"I did not 'turn against' him! I was following orders! And you're one to talk! You turned against Hiccup to save yourself from being bullied!"

"Yes I did, and I've had nearly two decades to regret it! What's your excuse?"

Astrid nearly exploded. "I was trying to become a warrior in those days! I was trying to be the best I could be for Berk, and he was going around messing things up for everyone! Think about it, Fishlegs, he caused accidents all the time! He caused problems for the community, and I was not happy about it, so I avoided him! He was a pathetic Viking—and being a Viking was all that mattered to me!"

"Big deal! There's more to life than being a 'Viking'! Maybe it's high time we woke up and realized that!"

"Don't try to blame everything about Hiccup on me, Fishlegs! Everyone on this island is just as guilty, including you!" She threw her hands into the air and stormed away. Fishlegs went after her.

"I'm not finished with you yet!"

"Well I'm finished with you! Leave me alone!" She entered her house and slammed the door. Fishlegs slammed it back opened. Given how nobody came running to see what was going on, Astrid guessed her parents were both out.

"Get out!" She snarled.

"Not until I'm done talking to you! Hiccup is still alive; what are we going to do about it?"

"'We?'"

"Yes, 'we.' Even if you were not aware of who he was before that night, you're still a part of this whether you like it or not!"

"I don't have a clue of what you're talking about. And what am I a part of, Fishlegs? Hiccup deserted Berk, and the Chief has disowned him. There's nothing we can do about it!"

"You mean we can't try to find him and apologize to him? Try to make amends? Listen to him for once? Treat him like a friend instead of an insect? Try to plead with him to not come and destroy Berk?"

Astrid was surprised and interested by what he was suggesting, but kept silent.

"Astrid, I know he's probably never coming back to Berk, and I can't blame him for it, but I've lived with this guilt for too long! I want to make things right with Hiccup! Don't you?" He was convinced now that she truly did. Her anger had more or less confirmed it in his eyes. He saw her use of violence as a means to try and hide her real thoughts.

His sincerity made her rage abate a little. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Very noble of you, Fishlegs. But after all that's happened, I doubt he'd listen to us. Besides, how would you find him, anyway?" He had told her about how to leave notes but she doubted that option was possible now.

"I have some ideas. You can leave that to me, if you like. But if I could find a way to meet with him, would you come too?"

Astrid bit her lip. To try such a move might sound like communicating with the enemy to most. Stoick might not approve. That was probably why Fishlegs was bringing this idea to her and not to Stoick himself. And yet, if they could somehow find a way to persuade him not to harm Berk and bring this situation to at least a truce, it might be worth it. And yet…and yet, and yet, she thought impatiently. She was walking on thin ice every day no matter which direction she turned.

"Who else knows about your intentions?"

"I'm going to tell my parents and probably Gobber. I thought of the Twins, but that would not be wise, I think. I couldn't trust them to keep quiet about it.

Astrid was a bit perplexed, "Why the Twins?"

"Don't you know what those two are doing now? They're worshiping him after they pray to Loki!"

"Seriously?"

"Yep. They're very impressed with what he and his 'destruction causing dragons' are capable of."

She shook her head. "Man, this is all so messed up, you know that? You're secretly planning to communicate with a boy we thought was dead, who turns out to be some all powerful King of our most hated enemies, and some of our own people are worshiping him! Doesn't it bother you?"

Fishlegs was grim. "It bothers me that things got this far to begin with."

"What are you two talking about?" Olaf entered the house, looking very tired.

"Hiccup," Astrid replied. Fishlegs gave her a warning look to tell her to keep their discussion to themselves.

"What else has anyone been talking about?" Olaf groaned and sat down, rubbing his temples. "I just spent a lot of two hours hearing the worst kind of garbage about him you could ever imagine."

"From Spitelout?"

"From Mildew?"

"From both. We were discussing plans and every other minute it seems at least one of them was saying how they always knew he was treacherous, how he should have been exposed at birth, on what they'd do to him if they ever saw him again, you get the idea. Most of it wasn't fit for the ears of a decent person."

"What was Mildew doing at a meeting like that?" Astrid demanded, "Normally he's not invited to those! And for that matter, why wasn't I told about this!"

"As to the first, he showed up and Spitelout asked him to stay. As to the second, you were busy with your class and Stoick decided the Hoffersons were well represented by me."

"And the Chief was ok with them mocking Hiccup?" Astrid asked. Stoick had mocked Hiccup at times in the past, such as before the Dragon Training Final Hiccup never showed up to, where he had said 'well I can show my face in public again!' but after the boy's apparent death he seldom tolerated a word spoken again his son in his presence. And now that he knew his son was still alive, he did not like Hiccup being brought up at all.

"He didn't really listen, but he did nothing to get them to stop." He shook his head, "I know exactly what the Chief is thinking about right now yet I have no idea what he really thinks about it. He might not have been so angry if Hiccup has just run off, but as for siding with dragons…well, keep in mind, Valka was taken by them too. Stoick's got over 20 years of hate in him, and that kind of thing is hard to just abandon. On the other hand, I think he is regretting what he did…maybe. I don't know, he won't say."

"What do _you_ think about all this, Mr. Hofferson?" Fishlegs asked tentatively.

Olaf considered a moment. "I've never exactly _liked_ Hiccup, you might say, but he's the one who's helped make Astrid Stoick's heir, and gave me the truth of my brother's death. I can't exactly overlook that." He did not overlook the fact that Hiccup being alive made him Astrid's rival for the Chiefdom, but he doubted that would be a matter of concern at this point.

"Most people here can," Fishlegs observed, "I doubt anyone now believes what he said about Finn and the Flightmare."

"Well _I_ believe him, and that's good enough for me. Maybe I only believe him because I want to, but isn't it enough that he gave me some comfort for my brother's death? Look, I'm not pretending I understand everything that boy has been through or why he's done what he has, but he's done me a service, and for that, I'm grateful. It would be shameful if I wasn't."

"Pity Stoick doesn't feel the same way," Fishlegs mumbled.

"You know, Astrid, I find it hard to believe you didn't realize it was him the whole time." Astrid fought hard to keep her face blank. "I mean, you had an entire week with him and never guessed! But I suppose, to be fair, we all thought he was dead, and when you think a man is dead you don't look to see him living with a flock of dragons. Not to mention, he looked like he'd grown a lot since the last time I saw him. And I imagine he did all he could to hide his identity from you."

"Yes he did."

"And of course, a lot of us are to blame too. I saw him up close at that meeting; I should have realized it then." He shook his head.

"I think we're all to blame in this case, dad. So, you mentioned you were at a meeting making plans. What happens now?"

"Now? We're building more defenses around the clock. Stoick's also getting ready to send word to other villages, telling them what's happened and calling for aid."

Fishlegs frowned at the thought of more defenses being built. "That'll cost a lot. And will he even attack us? Oh yes, and speaking of costs, has anyone seen Dogsbreath recently? He owes me a lot of money and I want it back."

Olaf shook his head. "Not recently. Not since the night the trap was sprung, come to think of it."

"I think I know where he is," Astrid said, "Snotlout mentioned yesterday he keeps going into the woods. I don't know why—not that I've been too interested in _his_ behavior."

"Well, I've given him a lot of money over the years, and I'm taking it back."

Astrid was impressed at his determination. "Since when did you get so tough?"

"Since I realized I had to shape up and be a better person. Since Hiccup shouted at me. And, getting back on that subject, if Hiccup was going to attack us, don't you think he'd have done it by now?"

Olaf shrugged. "Maybe he's waiting for something. Maybe he's still recovering."

Guessing how Hiccup might be feeling at that very moment, Astrid suddenly made up her mind. "Fishlegs, you've got to try to contact him now. Oh don't look at me like that; we can trust my dad on these matters! If you contact Hiccup now, we might be able to prevent an attack! We might be able to salvage this mess before it gets any worse!"

"You're planning to contact him?" Olaf asked in surprise, "Well, if you can dissuade him from wiping Berk off the map, I for one would be very grateful. But does the Chief know about this?"

There was a knock on the door before anyone could answer. Astrid answered it and saw Gustav.

"Hi Astrid!" He said dreamily, "The Chief wants you at the docks right now. Three ships are coming in."

"From where?"

"We don't know."

"What flag are they flying?"

"White."

While Astrid was going down to the docks, Fishlegs went into the woods. He was determined to find Dogsbreath and confront him.

"I'm not going to stand for your bullying anymore, you mongrel." He said to nobody. Shortly after this he realized he could wander around the woods for hours and not find a thing. He didn't even know if Dogsbreath was in the woods or not.

"Well this was kinda dumb," he mumbled, "so much for my determination. Still, he can't evade me forever." He turned around, disappointed but not defeated, when he spotted a shape passing between some trees not far off. "Then again…" he followed.

The person, whom Fishlegs could now see was Dogsbreath, entered a clearing. There was another person waiting there. Fishlegs did not recognize her. From the distance he was at, he could see she was very beautiful, with a dark mysterious face and long black hair. She was dressed entirely in a black outfit that looked a bit similar to Hiccup's, only in her case it really brought out her figure. Fishlegs suddenly came to an unpleasant conclusion: Dogsbreath secretly meeting an attractive woman in the woods would probably become very awkward for a person spying on them. He felt the urge to leave and was about to, when he spotted a Terrible Terror hiding up in another tree, plainly watching the two in the clearing. 'Something's going on here,' he thought darkly, and he resolved to stay put. He figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to just listen and not actually watch.

He heard the sound of leaves being stepped on, and then the woman spoke. "Did you miss me, mi Amor?" She had an accent that Fishlegs had never heard before. Dogsbreath responded by kissing her. Fishlegs heard what sounded like cloth being pulled apart, more sounds of fallen leaves being squashed, and then moans and kisses. As his face turned beet red he tried very hard not to imagine what was going on.

"Mi Amor, it is happening tonight."

"Good." Dogsbreath grunted.

"You know what you must do?"

"Don't worree 'bout me, Dancy. I'm jest the guy fer the job!"

"Oh I _know_ you are…" she purred "I believe you're the guy for any job. But I've only got one other in mind…" She sighed loudly.

"If yer askin' fer some more, I can't say no."

"Sorry, mi Amor, but it cannot be now. I must go soon. My master will need me to handle some…delicate affairs…but don't worry…" She kissed him, and judging by Dogsbreath's gasps afterwards Fishlegs guessed it was a very long and voluptuous one. "We'll be together soon, mi amor…very soon…and then we can do this day and night…I'll come whenever you call for me…"

He heard Dogsbreath lick his lips. "Oh I will, don't worree 'bout that!"

"Mind helping me dress, mi Amor?"

"I like ya more like this…"

She laughed. "Duty calls, mi Amor. I must go soon. You have got everything?"

"Course I do."

"Remember, only a few drops in each drink are all that we need. Take care not to do too much or it might turn fatal. And the master wants the girl and the Chief. Anyone else is fine but not essential. And don't forget to take some for yourself or it will look suspicious."

"Don't ya worree, Dancy. I'll see to it."

"Till later, than, mi Amor." Fishlegs risked a glance around his tree and saw the woman named Dancy walking deeper into the woods. She walked very slowly, swaying her hips and pausing just a moment to look back at Dogsbreath, who was lying on a pile of clothes and drooling.

"Don't ya worree, Dancy. I'll see to it." Dogsbreath said again, this time to himself, for Dancy had disappeared. "Then I'll have ya all to meself…long as yer looks last." He grinned and laughed. "Still…whew! She sure knows 'ow ta please a man—and wear 'im out! Now, get me clothes back on and it's off ta Snotty's place!"

Fishlegs saw him head back to the village. He intended to wait a few minutes before following, when suddenly someone shoved his head against the tree.

"You're not as quiet as you think you are, mi amigo," Dancy said as he fell unconscious. She glanced up at one of the trees and smiled. "And there's his Terror. Ah, Hiccup, mi Amor, we shall be together again very soon!"

Astrid ran down to the docks and saw what Gustav was talking about. Three large, ominous black ships flying white flags. They had already docked by then, and a solitary man was disembarking one. She found the Chief and saw he looked incredibly pale. He was staring at the man with unmistakable anger. She had seen it the night he had found out his son was still alive.

The stranger was a huge man, even by Viking standards. He was dressed in a black tunic and wore a long black cloak that looked suspiciously like dragon scales. The cloak completely covered one arm. The other arm was padded in on the shoulder and wrist, and was heavily scarred and muscular. His hair and beard were black and long, and tied into dreadlocks. His face was long and heavily scarred, even more distinctly than his arm. His nose was pointed like a goblin's, and his lips were twisted on one side. He came deliberately towards them. His eyes seemed to take in everything at a glance. Astrid knew the look. It was the kind you made when you were looking about for signs of weakness. He reached the Chief and looked coolly surprised.

"Well, well. I thought you had burned with the others."

"I'm not so easy to kill, Bludvist." Stoick growled. Astrid startled. _This_ was Drago Bludvist?

"I can see that." He raised one arm. Astrid could now see that the other arm was entirely made of metal. "As you can see, I am not carrying any weapons. There's no need for hostilities. I only came here to talk."

"Search him." Stoick ordered. "And keep an eye out for dragons."

"Dragons?" Drago laughed bitterly. He once had hundreds of them, but now he had less than ten. "There are no dragons here, I assure you. I don't blame you for being suspicious, but I came here to talk, not to fight. I want a word with you, Chief Stoick. It concerns the Dragon King."

Astrid felt her heart go into her boots. This was Hiccup's enemy. He was Stoick's enemy too by the looks of it, though she was unfamiliar with the details of that story. And yet here he was asking for an audience. She hoped the Chief would send him packing at once. He gave her the creeps.

"Follow me." Stoick replied coldly. He gestured for Astrid to come with them.

Nobody spoke as they walked to Spitelout's house. Most just went back to their daily lives. They'd seen the Chief meet with many odd looking people and saw no reason to make this one out to be any more important. But Astrid saw Gobber with her father and both looked deeply uneasy.

At the Jorgenson residence Spitelout, Snotlout, and Dogsbreath were in. Snotlout's head was wrapped in bandages. Dogsbreath looked rather disheveled, and there were twigs and leaves in his typically messy hair. Spitelout looked the best of the three by far, and was very surprised to see their visitor. Drago told them they were free to remain if they wished, and Stoick asked them to stay. Through a window Astrid spotted some armed Vikings take up positions near the door. Dogsbreath brought out some drinks, but Drago shook his head.

"Later. I never risk becoming intoxicated when I have important matters to attend to."

"I agree." Stoick nodded. "Later, Dogsbreath." He folded his arms. "So. What brings the mighty Drago Bludvist to my island?"

"I told you. I understand that someone here knows about his island, and I've heard you attempted to capture him. That you know what he looks like. That you know who he is." His voice and face both looked expressionless but Astrid thought she saw a hungry look in his eyes.

"And why should we tell you anything?" Stoick asked.

"Still sore about that night, I see."

Stoick slammed his fist onto the table, making everyone but Drago jump. "You had dragons kill everyone present except me! You intended to kill me with them! 'Sore' is a mild way to put how I'm feeling about it!"

Bludvist spat, unperturbed by the outburst. "Bah. Those men were weak. They did not deserve to live and command."

"Weak! They were all good men! Honorable, brave, intelligent—and you killed every single one of them!"

"The fact that they were killed by a few dragons proves how weak they were! And a weak man is not fit to lead! You of all people should know that!" He looked disgusted. "Weaklings cannot lead nations. They should not even be a part of nations. The weak only exist to serve the strong. That's how it is in the world."

Astrid knew she should let the Chief talk, but she could not restrain herself. "So you kill anyone who you consider weak! What kind of honor is that?"

"Honor! Honor is a bunch of lies told to make people behave themselves. Words used by people to justify their actions."

"That's compassion for you," Astrid mumbled. That sounded like something Hiccup would have said.

He looked at Astrid. "I've heard about you, Astrid Hofferson. Have you not said 'You have to look after yourself because Nature won't'?"

"How do you know about that?" Astrid demanded.

"I have long ears. I hear a lot of things." He was pleased to see he was making them uncomfortable. "And you, Chief Stoick. Your attitude suggests you disagree with me, yet you had no qualms telling your son he was weak and letting him suffer for it."

"I have no son." Stoick snapped. "I suggest you get to the point about why you are here."

"You know perfectly well why I'm here. You've known it the moment I arrived! I want to know everything you can tell me about the Dragon King!"

"And I am asking again, why should I tell you?"

Drago sneered. "You disappoint me, Chief Stoick. I thought that you would be glad to unite with me against the common enemy."

"I might have if I did not know you too well already."

"You know nothing about me, Chief Stoick."

"But I do." Astrid interrupted. "He told me you were a man with more ruthlessness than Alvin the Treacherous. That you intimidate dragons into servitude; that you bully and beat them until they're obedient and broken! And that you're just as cruel to humans too!"

"Yeah!" Snotlout added. Drago fixed his eyes on him and the young man cowered back into the way.

Drago shrugged. "If I am harsh, it is because it is needed to keep my followers in line. If I show any sign of weakness my enemies take hope and my followers feel doubt. If I give them an inch they will take a league. So, yes, I am a hard man. Anyone in my position has to be. You should know that, Stoick. Chief's have to be firm and hard if they are to succeed anywhere." He looked at Stoick, whose anger was still evident. "And my strength can make Berk great; greater than all of the Viking tribes in existence. You tried yourself to capture the King to enslave the dragons. I can get him for you. I'll bring you his head on a platter if you want. And when we have control of the dragons, we can use them to make ourselves the most powerful men on earth. The world is there for the taking, if someone is strong enough to grab it. With our forces united behind us, and an entire army of dragons, we will be strong enough. What do you say, Chief Stoick? All you need to do is tell me all you know about the Dragon King's Island and it will all be child's play to get the rest."

Despite his fury, Stoick fell deep into thought. Or at least he gave the impression of it.

"Chief, you're not actually considering this, are you?" Astrid shouted incredulously.

"It's wot we wanted when we tried ta capture 'im in the first place." Spitelout hinted. Clearly he had considered this and agreed with it. He already was making plans of how to use Bludvist to get power and how to bump Bludvist once they had no more need of him. "Think 'bout it, Stoick. We've been livin' in fear that the King'll come and destroy us. How long can we go with a knife at our throats like this? Berk needs security."

"Yeah, we can get Hiccup for betraying us now!" Snotlout cried.

Fearfully Astrid turned her head at once to look at Drago, but he did not react to Snotlout using the King's real name.

"Your son was taken by dragons." He said. "Yes, I know about that. The dragons have taken both your wife and your son from you. If we gain control of them, we can make them all pay for it. Isn't that what you want?"

Stoick stared at the table. Astrid looked frantic.

"Chief, this is Drago Bludvist talking. If we side with him, we'll suffer the same fate as the dragons once we've fulfilled our purpose! Would Valka have sided with him?"

At those words Stoick suddenly shook himself as if snapping out of a trance.

"Astrid is right. Whatever I may feel towards that…that demon loving traitor, I cannot in good conscience ally Berk with you. However" he added haughtily, "I will not stand against you if you wish to destroy that island that demon lover lives on."

'Did he really mean that?' Astrid wondered. She hoped not.

"Perhaps you could tell me where to look?" Drago suggested.

"Unfortunately, I can't. Only one of us has been to this place, and that person was blindfolded and purposefully disoriented."

"He's a clever man, I'll give him that." Drago said to himself. "Then could you at least tell me how you had managed to trap him? So I can avoid making the same mistakes?"

Stoick considered a moment, and then shrugged. "I lured him here saying I would accept his terms for peace, and invited him to a dinner to celebrate. We had a net hanging above the door. When he came in it was dropped on him."

"And then it all went wrong." Spitelout groaned. Stoick nodded.

"He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Including a sword made of fire."

Drago gestured to a scar on his face. "I know about that. But how did you pull your plan off without him hearing about it? I understand he's got a spy network in these parts. He'll probably know about our meeting before daybreak tomorrow. So how did you do it?"

"Dragons can't read. I wrote instructions on parchment and swore those who read them to secrecy. Most of my people didn't know about it."

'Had father been aware of this?' Astrid wondered. She guessed the Jorgenson men had known, and perhaps a few others, but that was it.

"And the Dragon King is your son." Drago said tonelessly.

A bit of Stoick's anger returned. "I have no son."

"Yes, I can see that. But does he feel the same way about his father, I wonder?"

Astrid's nervousness increased as she remembered the King's warnings. "He said quite plainly he has no father." She said quickly. "He hates Berk and all of us on it. He'll probably never want anything to do with us again, and I can't say I blame him." 'Please believe it, please believe it,' she thought.

"I see." Drago said. It was impossible to tell was he was thinking. He motioned to Dogsbreath. "Well, I see no reason for prolonging this. It's getting very late and I have work to do. I will take that drink your servant offered and then be going."

"Yes, Dogsbreath bring out the wine," Stoick ordered. He felt that a drop or five would do him good.

The wine goblets were brought out and distributed. A toast was raised to the Gods (which Drago did not entirely take part in) and to their success against dragons (which Astrid did not entirely take part in).

As they drank Drago shared more of his opinions. "Compassion is for the weak. It's an excuse for them to justify their existence. Does nature show compassion? Does nature make allowances for the weak? Of course not! The strongest wolves will be the ones to kill the deer, and the strongest deer will be the one to escape the wolves. That is the way of nature, and humans must take it even further. You call it cruel, I call it working as nature intended. The men I kill die because they do not have the strength or willpower to survive. Never mind the honor or the glory about killing. That's just a load of drivel. I call it what it is: kill a man and you have killed him. He was the weaker of the two and the world is better off without him. Had he been the stronger he would have won. His death is his own fault. But I think I have used up enough of your time, so…" he bade them all good night, for now it was night, and promising to be a very dark one at that, and saw himself out. Stoick made no move to follow him, for he knew there were guards outside who would make certain Drago reached his ship without incident.

"Now why did he say all of that?" Stoick mused, "What was the real reason?"

"That man gives me the shivers." Snotlout moaned as soon as he was gone.

"For once, I agree with you." Astrid said.

"That's my girl! I knew it was only a matter of time before you came over to my side!"

"Shut it before I fling you into a wall again."

"And about that, Hofferson: would ya quit beatin' up my son?"

"Only if he quits flirting with me." Astrid growled. Stoick held up a hand.

"I don't want any fighting now. We've got enough problems without you two at each other's throats."

Astrid felt too tired to argue further. She sat down and put her head wearily into her hands. "Chief? Were you really considering Drago's offer? Would you really tell him how to find Hic—the Dragon King if you could?"

Stoick shook his head and smiled slightly. "No. I wouldn't sell anybody out to that monster. But sometimes ya gotta give that impression to keep yer enemies confused."

She let out a sigh of relief and yawned. "Well then Chief, what are we going to do about all of this? Diplomacy? I support that idea but who can say if he'll listen. Another trap? I doubt he'd fall for it. An invasion? We don't even know where to invade. Prepare for an invasion here? We're already are doing that, but I wonder if we'd ever be ready to recieve one. Make Peace? Is anybody here going to support making peace with him? Or do nothing? That's both very easy and completely irresponsible." She yawned again.

Stoick yawned too. "I'm a bit too tired to discuss this further, Lass. Perhaps we should all just sleep on it. Maybe the Gods will send advice in a dream to someone. But personally, I think we must try diplomacy again. I must meet with him again…but perhaps we should all just sleep on it…"

"Not a bad idea," smiled Snotlout. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Suddenly something clicked in Astrid's mind and she struggled to her feet.

"Chief! That wine! Is there…?" languidly and dizzily she fell back into her chair. "Well maybe…later…we can…" she felt sleep coming to her and felt too tired to fight against it. Her mind told her she had been drugged, but the significance did not register with her. Her arms and legs felt like lead. The idea of sleep did not feel too bad. Huh. Twice in one evening she had agreed with Snotlout. She _must_ have been drugged. But she would worry about that another night….

A few minutes later several people clad in black cloaks and armor entered the room. The gaze of their leader fell upon the sleeping Dogsbreath.

"Feliz sueños, 'mi Amor'." She chuckled. "Leave that one. Get the other four to the ship. And make it fast."

As they worked to carry the bodies out the back door to a ship moored by a cove on the other side of the island, the lightning storm hit at last, and the rain fell by the bucket.

 **Author's note: I want to make this clear to everyone: the woman Dogsbreath was with is NOT Heather or Valka. That would be disgusting.**


	16. Chapter 16

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 16**

 **Kidnapped**

When Fishlegs gained consciousness at last it was morning. The first thing he noticed was he was soaking wet. For a moment he stared at the sky in a daze and smiled at the pink clouds. The storm had broken and now the weather was improving. He put his hand down and felt the soft wet grass.

Then he remembered with a jolt why he was drenched and sitting on grass in the first place and got to his feet as fast as his large and tired body allowed him. He turned around and hurried down the path to the Village, praying he was not too late to prevent anything.

Every step he took made him more uneasy about what had happened to him. Memories of what he had seen the day before came flooding back and increased his anxiety. Dogsbreath plotting with some woman, the arrival of ships that he had heard about, and the woman knocking him unconscious. In his gut he sensed he was already too late and something terrible had already happened, and he had seldom hoped so fervently that his gut instinct was wrong. But as he approached the Village and heard shouts and a great deal more bustle than was usual at this time of day, he knew with a sinking heart that it was right.

He ran into the Plaza and saw Gobber and Olaf talking with some of Berk's carpenters and shipwrights. That sight alone brought Fishlegs to a halt. Just from their looking at their expressions and posture, it was clear something was wrong and if something was wrong the Chief would be present. But he was not present.

'Maybe the Chief is sailing somewhere.' Fishlegs thought, though he did not believe it. Further thoughts were dispelled when he spotted his mother, who screamed and rushed over to him.

"Oh Fishlegs, thank Odin," she wept as she hugged her son. "I thought they'd gotten you too!"

"I'm fine, mom," Fishlegs said reassuringly. "But what d'ya mean? Who got who?"

"You don't know?" She cried incredulously. "What have you been _doing_ , Fish?"

"I'll explain later, mom, what's going on?" His question only brought on fresh tears.

"Oh, Fish, it's just horrible, just horrible!"

Thankfully his father arrived at that moment. He looked considerably relieved to see his son, but it vanished when Fishlegs repeated his question to him.

"Very bad business, Fish, very bad." He said grimly. "We can't find the Chief, the lass Astrid, or the Jorgenson men."

"We thought you'd been taken too!" his mom bawled.

"Taken by whom?"

"We think it was the strangers that came yesterday. Oh who am I kidding, it must have been them. Gobber said one of them was Drago Bludvist, and he and the Chief have some history between 'em. Their ships came yesterday evening and left some time during the night."

Fishlegs could not believe his ears. Drago Bludvist had come? He'd heard some horrible stories about that man that made his blood cold. And he had taken the Chief, Astrid, and the Jorgensons with him? He was too shocked to speak for a moment when he thought of them in that man's clutches.

"H—haven't we sent any ships out after them?"

"That's precisely what we're doing now. But unfortunately…"

"Those ships have at least a six hour head and we don't even know which direction they went." Fishlegs finished bitterly. His father was equally bitter.

"We sent out search parties on land last night but the weather was too rough to find anything. I don't think anyone made it very far."

"That explains why you didn't find me. What about Dogsbreath?"

"What about him? We found him in the Jorgenson house sound asleep. He's in the Healing hut right now recovering."

Fishlegs growled. Rage filled him. He wanted nothing better than to grab Dogsbreath and make him confess before everybody.

"Son, what's going on?" His father asked anxiously.

"Fish, what are you thinking about?" Her mother's words unexpectedly cooled his rage. He had to think. It would be largely his word against Dogsbreath, and he was not very good at talking in crowds. But the thought of Astrid and Snotlout in chains and completely at the mercy of Bludvist stiffened his determination.

He went over to Gobber and Olaf. His parents followed uncertainly.

"Ah! Fishlegs, there ya are, lad!" Gobber exclaimed with relief. "That's one down, four ta go! Ah jest hope the others will be as easy to find!" He turned back to the men he was talking to. "Are ya sure it's all of 'em?"

"All of them, Gobber."

"Thor almighty…" Gobber put a palm to his head. Fishlegs looked at Olaf Hofferson inquiringly.

"It's the ships. We've just found out that nearly every rudder has been damaged, and some damage was done during last night's storm." He was making an effort to speak matter-of-factly, but he was visibly uneasy. "Most of it is trivial, but it'll still take time for repairs and every hour we waste…" he turned away from them.

Gobber looked grimly at him. "Then we won't waste more time than we 'ave. Seaslug, git the repairs goin' now. Ah want 'em all ready fer sailin by tomorra mornin'."

Seaslug nodded determinedly and promised to have them so if they had to work all through the day and night. Yet when he and his men had left them neither Gobber nor Olaf looked very reassured.

"We still lose an entire day!" Olaf groaned. "And we don't even know where they'll be headed for!"

"How did they even manage to pull this off anyway?" demanded Fishleg's father. "The rudders getting damaged I can understand, it could have been done easily and stealthily enough, especially with that storm last night, but nobody would be so stupid they'd kidnap the Chief by carrying him right through the middle of his own village!"

"Perhaps they didn't," Fishlegs interrupted, "what if they had another ship moored somewhere else? Berk's not exactly short of beaches and natural harbors. What if while we kept an eye on the ships Drago came with he had another ship land on the other side of Berk?"

"That's possible," Olaf grumbled, "but in that case they'd have to know how to get through the woods in the middle of the night! Some people who were raised here can't do that! How did they know where to go without getting lost?"

Fishlegs said, "Why not ask Dogsbreath?" As quickly as possible he explained all that he had seen and his suspicions. The reactions of the four adults listening went from astonishment to shock to outrage, and they thanked Fishlegs profusely for his information.

"Where's that dirty rat?" Mr. Hofferson demanded, "If he knows where they took my daughter I'll have it out of him if I have to skin him alive and make him eat it!" He stormed over to Gothi's healing hut so quickly he had entered and exited it by the time they had caught up.

"He's not here!" Olaf shouted. "He was taken here to recover from being drugged, and now he's gone! Gobber, come here!" He dragged Gobber over to the healer Gothi. The elderly Gothi never spoke, but wrote on the ground using ancient runes which only Gobber and a few others were capable of reading.

"All right, Gothi, what happened?" Olaf demanded. The little hunched woman bent over a bin full of sand and began to write with her staff.

"Ok—she says 'e woke up a little while ago an' was feelin' light 'eaded. 'Bout a shower ago—" Here Gothi smacked him with her staff, her habitual reaction when people read her runes incorrectly. "Ow! Sorry, I mean an hour ago. Right, 'bout an hour ago he left to go to the Owl house—ow! Argh, _out_ house, and 'e 'as not been seen since. Gothi would 'ave gone lookin' fer 'im herself but she was occupied with another patient." He looked up from the sand.

"Gothi did he say anything?" Olaf pressed anxiously. She needed no runes to tell him he had not. Olaf threw himself into an empty chair. He looked about ready to break down.

"Olaf, we'll find them, don't worry." Mrs. Ingerman assured him. They were empty words and everyone knew it.

"I thought we might be able to get something from that rat. A location—a reason— _something_! Now they're as good as gone, and I can't do a thing about it!" He stood up abruptly. "I'm going to go help with the repairs." He stopped at the door and asked if anyone else coming would be coming with him. Fishlegs' father motioned to Fishlegs to come with them, but Fishlegs hesitated.

"Go wid 'im, lad. There's nuffin' more we can do 'cept get the ships ready."

"Actually, Gobber, there is one thing we could try."

Gobber eyed him curiously. Fishlegs looked right back at him and in that gaze Gobber somehow understood what Fishlegs had in mind.

"Do ya think it'll work?"

"We have to try it."

"Try what?" Olaf demanded, halting in the doorway.

Fishlegs was dead serious. "I want to send a message to Hiccup."

Olaf came back into the room. "What good would that do?"

"Think about it, sir. Hiccup's got dragons all over the place. I saw a Terror above me when I was eavesdropping on Dogsbreath. I'll bet he knows where those ships have gone. Plus, we know that he's an enemy of Drago Bludvist. And don't forget, most of the dragons that we know Hiccup has can cover over five times the distance a ship can in a day. If Hiccup came to help us tonight with the rescue, we could have everything resolved within two or three days, not two or three weeks, which is how long it might take traveling by ship."

"But _will_ Hiccup help us?" asked his mother.

"There's only one way to find out. It can't hurt us to try."

Gobber thought a moment. "Do ya 'ave a way to contact 'im?"

"I believe I do."

Gobber nodded. "Then do it."

"Meantime," Olaf said, "we'll get those ships repaired and fitted out, so if he doesn't come to help we'll have lost no time."

"And ah'll go look fer Hognose. Maybe 'e'll know somethin' 'bout this." Gobber announced as he headed out the door.

Mrs. Ingerman looked at her son nervously. "Fish, are you sure you know what you're doing, getting Hiccup involved with this?"

"If Bludvist is in this, then he probably already is involved." Fishlegs replied. "Unfortunately, if this is going to work, I'm going to need a little assistance,"

"You want us to help you catch a _what_?" Ruffnut yelled. Fishlegs tried to stay patient.

"You heard me. I need a dragon. And you're going to help me catch one—alive and unharmed."

"And just how are we going to do that?" Tuffnut asked. Fishlegs held up a salmon, a net, and a piece of polished metal.

Nearly an hour later they were outside in the woods hiding behind a boulder. The salmon was lying on the ground a few feet ahead of them. Fishlegs was carefully angling the metal so it reflected the sunlight in various directions. He had also left a letter on the statue of Hiccup I, but he had a suspicion it would be ignored. He wanted to ensure a dragon would deliver a letter for him, and that meant catching one himself.

"This is boring." Tuffnut moaned.

"Good things come to those who wait." Fishlegs said impatiently.

"We've been waiting here for hours." Ruffnut complained.

"Less than one, actually."

"Gosh, Sis, get it right!"

"Ah shut up, stupid."

"I'm not stewpid!"

"Yes you are!"

"Will you guys be quiet! You'll scare the dragons away before they even get here!"

"Like her armpits wouldn't do it anyway!" Tuffnut muttered.

"I heard that!"

"And I—" But Fishlegs held up a warning hand and pointed. The light reflecting off the metal had caught the attention of a Terrible Terror. It approached the area curiously. Then he spotted the fish on the ground and started drooling.

" **Well hello! Now what have we here**?" The little guy, for he was no bigger than a cat, approached the fish and sniffed it. " **A nice big salmon fish for a poor hungry little me! How very considerate!"**

"Now?" Ruffnut whispered to Fishlegs.

"Not quite…"

" **Well, don't mind if I do**."

"Now." Fishlegs whispered.

"What?" Tuffnut asked in confusion.

"Now!"

"Now what?"

"NOW!" He hadn't meant to shout but he did, and the Terror, after nearly shedding its skin with fright, spotted him.

"Get him!" Fishlegs yelled. Tuffnut promptly grabbed him. "Not me, stupid! Get the dragon!" Tuffnut grabbed his sister. Fishlegs was beside himself with fury. "I SAID GET THE _DRAGON_!"

"From my point of view this girl _is_ a dragon! Have you seen her when she's in a bad mood?"

"Let go of me, you dummy!" Ruffnut dealt her brother a blow to the head.

"Goodnight, Mommy!" Tuffnut moaned right before he passed out.

"Great!" Fishlegs shouted, "We had the perfect chance and you guys blew it! All I wanted was for you to—wait, what are you pointing at?"

He looked down. The Terror was rolling around on the ground laughing. Laughing so hard it was having trouble breathing.

" **Hahaha you guys are—gasp—the dumbest bunch of—hee hee—dragon trappers I've—hic—ever seen—hahaha**!"

"Well I never!" Fishlegs grinned. He couldn't understand what the dragon was saying, of course, but the sight was so silly. The fearsome Terrible Terror was rolling around like a baby being tickled!

"Ruffnut, the net—and get it on the _dragon_ , please."

The dragon saw them throw the net on top of him but he was in too humorous a mood to attempt an escape. " **At least I'm going to die happy**!" He declared, heroically puffing his chest out and raising his eyes to the heavens like a martyr. " **They'll get no satisfaction out of me, my King**!"

"Ruff, just look at this guy! Does this look like the creature we've been raised to fear and hate?"

"That's my brother you're referring to, and yes he does…and weren't you saying something about sending a _letter_?"

"Oh right." Fishlegs mentally slapped himself. For a moment his inquisitiveness had gotten the better of him. He pulled out a scroll of parchment and tied it to the Terror's leg. The Terror eyed him curiously.

" **What are you doing to me? Death by mail?** "

Fishlegs lowered himself so he was looking the Terror right in the eye. "Now you listen here, little guy—"

"Talking to Terrors," Ruffnut muttered, "he's gone round the bend this time! Just like us!" Her mood brightened at that last thought.

"—all we need is for you to take this message to the Dragon King at the Dragon Sanctuary. You understand me, right? Nod if you do."

" **You want me to carry a letter to his majesty? I suppose I could do that.** " The Terror nodded

"Good! Now, I'll just take the net off of you and…there we go!"

" **Free**!"

At that moment Tuffnut regained consciousness. "I've got it! It was a rooster that ate Mom's dress!"

The Terror couldn't resist and bit him on the nose before taking off. While Tuffnut screamed about how hurt he was and Ruffnut laughed at him Fishlegs watched the dragon fly away.

"Please help us out, Hiccup." He whispered. If Hiccup refused, he had no idea what they were going to do to get Astrid and the Chief's family back.

Far out at sea four Hairy Hooligans were locked up in the brig of a ship.

"Let me out of here!" Snotlout screamed as he pushed on the bars of his cell. "I'm innocent! Innocent I tell you! Whatever this is about it's not my fault!"

"Oh shut up!" Astrid shouted at him. "Do you think they're going to release us because you ask them to?"

"You keep quiet too!" Spitelout snapped. "This is yer fault and ya know it!"

Astrid was indignant. " _My_ fault!"

"Yes! If ya hadn't been so stupid ya wouldn't 'ave gone to that accursed island, and then Drago wouldn't have come to capture us!"

She saw about to retort when they heard footsteps. The man creating them was Dagur the Deranged and he was grinning.

"I love hearing the sound of people in cells screaming. It's so delightful!"

Stoick said, "Dagur! What are you doing here?"

"I'm visiting my prisoners, silly! Are you all comfortable? Can I get you anything?"

"How about the keys?" Astrid hinted.

"Nice try, my dear, but you aren't going to make a fool out of me! I already did that to myself a long time ago!—wait, did that come out wrong?"

Stoick nodded with understanding. "I'm guessing you and Drago made an alliance?"

"And Alvin too! We're like brothers, my dear Stoick! Brothers! So when my dear brothers Drago and Alvin both wanted you captured, how could I possibly say 'no'? And soon we'll be saying hello to our youngest brother too!" He started laughing as though he was a monkey. Then all at once he was serious. "And we brothers have got some plans for you!"

"Then if it's me you want, let the others go. Surely having the Chief of Berk as a hostage is enough for you."

"Sorry, but Drago insisted on having Astrid brought here too. As for you two," he gestured carelessly to the Jorgenson men, "We didn't need you but you happened to be there, so…bad luck!"

"And what do you want with us?" Astrid demanded. "If you're after information on the Dragon King, you're asking the wrong people!"

"Oh, don't worry! There's nothing you can tell us that we don't already know!" He laughed. "The Dragon King was Hiccup all along! Who'd have thought it? My little brother!" He frowned. "He turned on his family! He's such a bad boy! So we've got to bring him home and punish him for abandoning his kind and loving family!" He held up his sword. "Don't worry, my friend, you'll soon be touching Hiccup again!" He continued to reassure it as he walked away.

Stoick spoke after a short silence. "Well, they don't call him Dagur the Deranged for nothing."

"Is Hiccup really his brother?" Snotlout asked. Astrid slapped her forehead and wished he wasn't out of reach so she could do the same thing to him.

"But wait a minute—if they don't want information out of us then why are we here?" He went on.

"Isn't it obvious?" Astrid spat. She really wished she was stuck with smarter prisoners. "They want Hiccup. So they've kidnapped people he knows, expecting him to come and try to save us, then they'll capture him and kill him!"

"I wouldn't object ta that if they were using somebody else fer bait," Spitelout commented. Astrid looked at him appalled. Stoick simply sat on his bench and stared at the wall of the ship.

"Chief, what are we going to do?"

"Nothing for the moment. There's nothing we _can_ do."

"But we've gotta get out of here!" Snotlout wailed.

"Oh Snotlout, shut up! Even if we escaped these cells somehow, there are only four of us! We'd never be able to take over the ship or sail it back to Berk, and we can't swim back, so until we've reached land there's nothing we can do except wait."

"Hiccup warned me this would happen." Astrid said softly, "why didn't we listen to him?"

"Don't talk 'bout him." Spitelout ordered. "It's 'is fault we're in this ta begin with."

"Oh, so it's _his_ fault now?"

"'Course it is. We're prisoners 'ere because Drago thinks we're his family and close friends. Soon as 'e revealed who he was he made us targets. Therefore, this is 'is fault!"

"If that's the case, then we're to blame for not paying attention to the warnings he gave when we wanted him to reveal himself! This is exactly what he was talking about, but no! We all just had to ignore him and press him to tell us who he was! That's what all of this comes back to: we ignored him, as usual!" She followed Stoick's example and stared at the wall.

"I wonder if he knows about this." Snotlout mused.

The man in question had mostly recovered from his injury, thanks most due to Toothless concentrating entirely on taking care of him. During the first week the Dragon was in complete control and when he told his brother to rest or to eat, his tone clearly indicated he would have no arguments.

Fearful of his reaction, no dragon dared to bring up Berk when he was nearby, not even Toothless. Taking his cue from them, he refused to mention it. Instead, once he had sufficiently recovered, he returned to his old hobbies with renewed vigor and excitement. Blacksmithing, inventing, drawing, and most of all flying were the ways he had passed his time. Toothless had seldom seen him look so enthusiastic about these pursuits, though he wished there was a better reason for it.

He was a bit _too_ enthusiastic. Toothless at first almost feared he was intentionally trying to get injured again, maybe so he could have dragon blood put into him to see what would happen, but he soon realized that was not the case. He was being so enthusiastic so he would not think of Berk.

Toothless did think of Berk a lot. Sometimes he was so sick of the subject and its crimes that he wanted to fly over there and burn the village down. Sometimes he did not care about it and wanted to leave it alone forever. Yet there were also times where he wanted his friend to be reconciled with the place, somehow. He knew Berk's rejection still hurt him, and he just wanted to be able to do something about it.

They got word that Drago was increasing his demands on the dragon trappers, and they were increasing their attempts to capture dragons. So naturally the King increased their efforts to stop them. Ships and strongholds were being raided almost nightly, and sometimes at day too. By now all of the dragons taking part in this were seasoned veterans and could free imprisoned dragons from a defended cargo hold in under five minutes. The ships and the men on them they left as unharmed as possible. The King still preferred to merely subdue them, not kill them. The King himself was not taking part in this much, as Toothless would not allow him to risk getting injured while still recovering. It galled him to be left out of things, but Toothless's word was law at the moment.

Until today at least. The King had finally convinced Toothless to give him a trial run with dragon rescuing, which soon went far beyond anything they had expected. The King and Toothless had led rescues on 3 ships themselves, and 5 more rescues had occurred elsewhere. Once they reached the Sanctuary Toothless decided his rider had had too much excitement for one day and demanded he take a rest.

" **Get in that bed right now or I will drag you to it and sit on you to keep you there**!"

" **You're enjoying this, aren't you**?"

" **Just like how you enjoy bringing up baths**!"

His rider yawned. " **I suppose a few hours wouldn't hurt**."

" **Only if you keep putting strain on that arm and shoulder**."

" **I'm fine, Bud**."

" **You'd say that after someone cut both your arms off**." Toothless gave him a big lick on the face.

" **Yep, you're enjoying this**."

The dragon looked seriously at him. " **I just want you to take care of yourself**."

" **Why? You do it for me. Hello, what's that**?" A Terror came into the room and began hopping about in excitement. " **Easy there, little guy, what's going on**?"

" **Sir, I just want you to know I didn't tell them anything**!"

" **Tell who anything**?"

" **They got no satisfaction out of me**!"

" **No what—and what is that around your leg**?"

" **I come bearing a mail for your majesty**!" The Terror held out his leg as if there was a giant diamond and not parchment attached to it. The King untied the letter and frowned as he read it.

" **Toothless, listen to this** :

" _ **Hiccup**_

 _ **I know I don't have any right to ask this of you, but I need to speak with you as soon as possible. Please meet me in the eastern woods of Berk after sunset but before midnight. Please, Hiccup. This is a matter of life and death.**_

 _ **Fishlegs**_

" **Clever** ," the King commented when he had finished. " **Very cleverly written. You'll notice he doesn't say why he wants to talk to me, though he makes it sound important. He hopes that by doing so my curiosity will be aroused and I'll come, if for no other reason than to satisfy it. But he also is vague because he fears any specifics might anger me and dissuade me from coming. That's Fishlegs for you.** " He set the parchment down and began taping his fingers on the bed sheets as he thought.

" **And what are we going to do about it**?" Toothless demanded. " **Go back to that rock? Walk into another trap?"**

" **Of course not**." He lay back. " **I'm going to get a little sleep if that's all right with you**."

Toothless would have taken a nap as well, but he decided he make certain the new dragons had gotten situated, so he left. The King stared at the ceiling and waited for sleep to come. While he waited he thought about what the next move against Drago Bludvist should be. This made him remember what that trapper Eret had said. Was he truly just causing more trouble? Was he causing people to starve and suffer because he was wrecking the dragon trade? He shook his head. They could always find other lines of work. They did not have to capture, sell, and kill dragons.

Still, how much longer could this go on for? Drago may have had virtually no dragons to make an effective fighting force now, but he still had a lot of manpower at his command. Sooner or later he would decide to move. He had to, or else his alliances would break, his men would become demoralized, and his supplies would run out. The question was where would he do first? Try and find the dragons and destroy or capture them, or go against any Vikings who opposed him? The dragons would be a much greater prize, but a much harder one to net. The individual Viking tribes would be much easier, but they would put up a good fight and cost Drago men and time.

Either way, what would he do about it? Sometimes he wanted to just gather every dragon and go for an all out attack. That was the Viking way: throw everything into a huge charge and either wipe out the foe or your own army. He'd been reluctant to do that, yet guessed that sooner or later they would probably have to.

There seemed to be no way out of it. He could feel war was coming and he knew it meant killing, but he could not bring himself to kill anyone. In fact, apart from the Red Death, he had never killed a dragon nor had he ever killed a human, as far as he knew, though he had probably been the reason for some deaths. But while the men who had sided with Drago were his enemies, a lot of them were innocents in this who just picked the opposite side—just as he had. Then again, he knew a lot of them were greedy bloodthirsty sadistic men who enjoyed seeing mighty creatures chained up and in pain.

And now there was this kidnapping that had happened several days ago. He already knew what Drago was up to, and Drago most likely knew he knew it. He had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, he had warned them, and he was not really in the mood to do Berk any favors. On the other hand, they were still former friends and family members, and they were in the hands of his enemies. The King had done nothing personally about it, because he had been confined to his island until today, but he had given orders that if the ship carrying the hostages was found, they were to be brought to the Sanctuary alive and unharmed. So far nothing had turned up, though granted after the fiasco on Berk no dragons had searched very hard for the kidnapped Berkians, and he suspected the ship had already reached its destination.

As he dwelt on this a memory came to mind. A beautiful woman was leering over him, a whip in one hand, the other hand stroking his bloodied cheek, and then the crack of the whip began again. He slammed a fist into his head as if to knock the memory out of it. Taking deep breaths he tried to focus on something else. The memory returned, only this time it was not him there but Astrid. He tried to go back to thinking about the coming war. It did not help. Indeed, he wondered now if it had already begun since Drago had captured Astrid. He saw her beaten, lashed, bloodied, clothes torn, eyes brimming with tears as she tried to not show any pain. He tried to think of other things, anything, but he kept seeing her limp and beaten body lying on the floor of a cell.

He groaned and sat up in bed. " **Toothless**!"

 **To save myself from another wave of fury over this cliffhanger, the next chapter will be posted this evening.**


	17. Chapter 17

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 17**

" **I've got this idea…"**

It was the fifth night since the kidnapping had taken place. The repaired ships had left a few days ago for the Bog Burglars and the Owl Guts, Berk's nearest allies, but they would still take nearly 10 days to return, assuming nothing went wrong. Other ships had gone out searching in every direction for Stoick and the others. Meantime, every night at the appointed hour Fishlegs and the Twins went into the woods and waited. This was the third time they had done so and their tempers had not gotten any better from the previous nights of futile waiting. Still, Fishlegs held hope that each passing night meant the odds were better that Hiccup would show up on the next one. As for the Twins, whenever they complained he suggested they go home and he would wait alone, but they declined the offer. Perhaps they were as anxious to see Hiccup as he was, or perhaps they wanted to feel that they were doing something to help Astrid and the others. Whatever their reasons were, they stayed with him.

Fishlegs wished he had not asked Hiccup to meet him in the woods. He had done so because he knew Hiccup would never come to the Village now, and he had no idea how anyone else would react if he did. But he wished he had chosen somewhere else. There was virtually no light where they were, except for a small lantern, which made matters worse in some respects. The shadows it made seemed large and evil. Any visible shape seemed like some new danger waiting to strike; the smallest sound seemed amplified and made them all jump. The three of them fidgeted anxiously, and often looked around wildly at the slightest sign of movement or sound, both of which sometimes only existed in their nervous imaginations.

"How—" Tuffnut's sudden words made the other two jump, "sorry—how long do you think we've been waiting here now?"

"We came up here just after sunset, so at least an hour. Maybe two." Fishlegs said wearily.

"Fish, do you think he's going to come this time?" Ruffnut asked in an unusually small voice.

"I hope so…he's got to." This last was said more to himself.

They sat in silence again. Each one wanted to break the silence but could not think of anything to talk about that they had not already discussed. Unbidden, thoughts of what the hostages might be going through at that moment came into their heads, making the darkness and silence even more disturbing and nerve wracking.

"Well?"

They jumped again. The Dragon King emerged from behind a tree. The yellow light from the lantern contrasted viciously with his black clothes and helmet, making him look very menacing.

"Hiccup! Thank Odin, I thought you might—!"

"Just so you know: there are a dozen dragons hiding around us right now. If there are any _traps_ , I'm the only human who will be leaving this place alive. If you can call me human anymore…"

"What's that supposed to mean, Hiccup?"

"That's not my name, Fishlegs."

"Uh, yeah, well, um, sorry about…all that…but…look we really need your help!"

"You do, do you? I thought as much."

"Yes, we've been waiting for days since I sent that message to you. Did it really take that long to reach you?"

"Not for the reasons you might think…Tetry was so overwhelmed by the importance of his duty and so proud of not giving his captors any satisfaction he got lost for a while. He finally reached the Sanctuary this morning but I was gone until this afternoon."

"Well, better late than never…"

He suddenly laughed coldly. "Sorry, but it does seem rich, doesn't it? The boy who was beaten and deserted by his friends, the teenager who was scorned and neglected by his village, the man who was nearly _murdered_ by his own father—he is now being asked to help them out. I fancy there's a Greek tragedy on this subject."

"Look, I understand you're angry, and believe me, you have every right to be so, but this isn't the time for it. Astrid, Snotlout, his father, and the Chief have been—"

"Taken by Drago Bludvist and are now being held in the lockups on Berserker Island, yes I know. I warned you guys that could happen. And just so you know, the Berserker Island harbor is filled with ships; 35 at the last count. And the Outcasts are involved in this too."

Tuffnut looked at him starry-eyed. "Dude, how do you know all this?"

Ruffnut slapped him. "He's got dragons, dummy! Awesome, destructive, fire-breathing dragons!"

Tuffnut bowed his head reverently. "Amazing firepower and an appetite for destruction!"

"I just said that!"

"No you didn't!"

"As much as I would enjoy seeing you two beat the living daylights out of each other, I don't have the time, so if you'll excuse me—" the King turned to leave.

"Wait, Hiccup!" Fishlegs reached for him, only to be snarled at—"Sorry, I mean—what should I call you by, anyway?"

"Oh for crying out loud, just say what you have to say!"

"All right, look—our allies won't be here for another week or two at best, and it's a good 5 day voyage to Berserker. Odin knows what could happen in that time! We need to rescue Astrid and the others and we need to do it now! And there's something else; Dogsbreath is in on this, I saw him with some woman named 'Dancy.'"

"I know you did. Her name's Adoncia. She's the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish nobleman. Before she met Drago, she would pick out rich men to sleep with, and then her father would blackmail them. Nice way to earn a living."

"How do you know this?"

"…We've crossed paths before."

"You didn't…um…didn't…?"

"No, I have not slept with her. As for Dogsbreath, he wasn't the first man and he won't be the last, I daresay." His arms twitched as he spoke.

"Where is Dogsbreath? Do you know? Hognose said he had nothing to do with this and doesn't know where he is."

"I imagine he's hiding in the woods right now. Maybe Mildew's hiding him. You'll probably find him if you sent out a search party. I haven't really looked into his doings much since the kidnapping took place. He played his part, and I doubt he'll be called on again for more."

"She said they would be together soon afterwards."

"She would. She's an expert in seduction. She knew what kind of man Dogsbreath was and played him like a mandolin. By doing so she got him to slip some Nadder venom into their drinks. In very small doses it'll only put you to sleep for a while. My Terror scouts saw and heard the whole thing. Then they took them to a ship anchored on the other side of the island and sailed off."

"So that's how they were captured!" Ruffnut exclaimed. "But why didn't you do anything to stop it?"

"Why should I have? And if you must know, until very recently, I was a bit preoccupied with recovering,"

Fishlegs winced.

"So how do we get everyone back?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yes about that." Fishlegs cut in. "Hiccup—sorry—look, you know where they are, you know what we're up against, and you have the means to get there before it's too late. I am asking you—I am _begging_ you—please help us!"

The King turned very slowly to look at him. "And give me one very good reason for why I should do that."

"Why did you even come here if you weren't going to help us?" Fishlegs countered.

"I enjoy Greek tragedy."

"No, that's not it—"

"Maybe he got bored?" Tuffnut suggested.

"Maybe he's lonely?"

"Maybe he wants to make a wig out of Fishlegs' beard!"

"Fishlegs doesn't have a beard, stupid!"

"He's got some stubble; that counts!"

"Is this your way of convincing me?" The King asked dryly. "You know that I could rescue them myself if I wanted too. I don't need the three of you."

"Then why don't you?" Hiccup cocked his head to one side, "Ok, bad question. But we need your help! What will it take? You want Berk to accept your terms? We'll do it. You want dragons to come and live on Berk? We'll give it a try. You have my word on it."

"No offense, Fish, but I highly doubt you have any authority on these matters."

"Not officially, maybe, but I'm sure I can persuade Astrid, and Astrid will be the next Chief of Berk. Besides, if you rescue them, you'll be proving dragons can be good creatures! Think about it! You save them and you could probably get any reward you want!"

"And you really think Stoick would do that?"

"The Chief is a man of his word, and a man of honor. He would consider it shameful to not reward a man who saved his life."

"A man of his word doesn't send summons intended to lure people into traps."

"Ah…well, what about Astrid? She'd see to it that you're rewarded, and she can influence the Chief! Her father would too, and so would Gobber!"

"And Spitelout and Snotlout would then persuade him to lure me into a clearing and cut my head off. Sorry, I think I'll pass."

"They're being held by _Drago Bludvist_! The man you've been trying to stop for years! Here's another chance to thwart him!"

"I have no doubt other chances will turn up."

"What's wrong with you?" Fishlegs shouted. "The Hiccup I knew would never let his father and Astrid stay locked up in a madman's prison!"

"The 'Hiccup' you knew was a child! None of you here paid much attention to him after that, except for when you joined in taunting him and beating him up! And no matter what it may seem to you, I am _not_ the Hiccup that lived on Berk! I am—I don't even really know what I am anymore! I don't even have a name for crying out loud and I don't even know why I've never chosen a new one!" He kicked a rock in annoyance.

"You know, Dude, I know some cool ones you could try, like—"

"If you think this is going to persuade me to—"

"Listen," Fishlegs grabbed him by the shoulders. "I know I have no right to ask you to help us now, but I don't know who else to turn to. I know we treated you badly—I've had eight years to think back on those days. Eight years that I spent remembering what I did and didn't do, wishing I could somehow go back and do things differently. Can you please let me make amends if I can't do anything more? Can you let _us_ make amends? You're the only hope we've got now. When I think of what Dagur might be doing to Astrid or the Chief at this moment..."

The King suddenly began shaking.

Ruffnut looked concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"No I'm…I'm fine," he replied shakily, "But Fish, it's Drago you want to worry about, not Dagur. Dagur's a kid compared to Drago."

"You know so much about this already, share your knowledge with us, _please_! If things don't work out, you can always go back to your island and forget about it. But we need you…Odin knows, if you say 'no' I don't know how we can get them back without war and a huge loss of life. Please, Hic—Dragon King, please help us!" Fishlegs pleaded.

The King cocked his head to one side again.

"Supposing I say 'yes', what exactly do you expect me to do for a rescue?"

Fishlegs smiled. "We'll have to use dragons, because nothing else can get there so quickly. So I expect to ride a dragon there, follow a plan we've come up with, break them out, and let the dragons carry us all back here."

"You realize that if I do—and I'm not saying I'm committing myself—but if I do agree, you guys put yourselves and your families at risk, right? You guys have been on the sidelines observing so far, but if we go through with this, you're taking sides. You'll become flat out enemies of Drago and the Outcasts and Berserkers, and there's a good chance you could be exiled from Berk for riding dragons, given past events. Other tribes in the region might condemn you as well. And it won't just be you who will be at risk, but your friends, family, and anybody else with a connection to you. If we do succeed, we risk putting Berk at war. Are you willing to accept the consequences of that?"

"Dagur and Drago and Alvin have already provoked war," Fishlegs said firmly, "they kidnapped our Chief and his family. We've already asked for other tribes to come to our aid. I think the question of war has already been settled."

"Ah, but now you're going to be a key player in it. That carries more risk to you and those close to you. Look at me. I was nearly killed by my ex-father, and now he's been captured because of his relation to me. Even after he disowned me he still suffers because I took a side in a conflict."

"I think we've got no real choice in the matter. If Drago is anything like the man I've heard about, he's going to come after us one day whether we oppose him or not."

"Very true…"

"So what do you say?" Tuffnut asked eagerly, "will we get to ride those awesome fire breathing dragons?"

"And will you help us rescue the Chief and Astrid?" Ruffnut quickly added.

"Don't forget about Snotlout and his father." Fishlegs reminded her.

"I'd prefer to," The King mumbled. He looked at the ground for a moment. Fishlegs put a hand on his shoulder but the King threw it off. "Look, just give me a minute to think, all right?" He began to walk away.

"Hey, how can you see where you're going?" Ruffnut called after him.

"It's not too dark when dragons have fire in their mouths." Right on cue two dragons opened their mouths and let flames gather in them, as though their mouths were giant lanterns. They had not done this before so they would not give away their positions. The King reckoned that if this was indeed a trap someone would have sprung it by now, and only a few dragons were actually revealed in the firelight.

"That is unbelievably _awesome_!" Tuffnut said fervently.

"That guy is so cool! Why couldn't he have been like this on Berk? We'd have been the best of friends! And he's kinda cute, you know that?"

"Eww, Ruff, just…eww."

The King stood facing Toothless.

" **Sounds like you're already changing some minds** ,"

" **Two nutjobs and a plump Dragon nerd. They'll be giving me welcome home parties next. So Bud, what do you think?** "

" **I thought the reason we came here was to rescue them**."

" **We are. I've already made up my mind to save Astrid, help or no. All that reluctance you just saw was bluff. I wanted to see where those three stand and how determined they are**."

" **Just Astrid**?" Toothless grinned.

" **I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her that I could prevent, you know that**."

" **And what about the other three**? **I know you and the Chief have had a rough relationship…maybe this is what will make him accept you**."

" **Sure, whatever. But I suppose it would be wrong to leave the other three.** I **t would just prove them right about us."** The King thought for a minute and sighed. " **Funny isn't it? I ran away from Berk 8 years ago, and yet I'm still getting involved with it. We'll need more dragons, though. Send someone back to the Sanctuary for volunteers. They will wait for us there, and have them collect every barrel of powder we've got. We'll use half of it. And I'll need two dragons…ask Meatlug and Zippet to come here."**

" **You've got it**." Toothless grinned. The King returned to his former friends.

"All right, guys, here's the thing. First of all, I'm in charge of this, and we're going to do things my way. Understood? Right, now riding dragons is one matter, but breaking into a Berserker stronghold is something else, and I don't know if you're capable of doing that kind of thing."

"So what do we do?" Ruff asked,

"Are you saying you agree?" Fishlegs asked at the same time.

"Yes, I will help you." He picked up a stick and drew in the dirt. "Here's the fort. The dungeons are probably somewhere in the lowest part of it, probably underground. Most dungeons usually are but I can't say for certain. The problem is if we go in for a full scale attack, they'll have enough time to get down to the dungeons, grab a hostage, point a knife at them, and order us to surrender. If we refuse they'll kill them and move on to the next one until we give up or they run out, so either way we lose. A frontal attack never works where hostages are involved."

"Couldn't we tunnel in with a Whispering Death?" Fishlegs suggested.

"We could only if we knew exactly where they were. If we come out in the wrong spot, we'd just give ourselves away, and the Berserkers would do the same thing as they would during a frontal attack. And if we come out in the right place, there's a good chance we might accidently injure the hostages. If it was just one person, I'd take the gamble, but not with four. Any one of them might be standing in the wrong spot. To say nothing about the sheer compassion of it, getting anyone hurt would cause unneeded difficulties."

"So what do we do then?" Tuff asked impatiently.

"Yeah, how do we get in?"

"Oh getting in is easy. It's getting out that you've got to worry about. Don't you see already? Drago captured them to lure me into a trap. He _wants_ me to come for them. So if we're going to have any chance, we've gotta do something he won't be counting on. We've gotta use his expectations to our advantage. And that's where you guys come in. See, I've got this idea…"

Gobber walked to his house exhausted. It had been yet another day of nothing but waiting, which could tire a man more than hard exercise. They had sent their ships out as planned, but that been the only real good news. Most had gone off in different directions searching, while a handful had sailed to ask their nearest allies for help, whether that was help with the search, military aid, or both. Even so, that would take a long time. Sailing to Owl Gut Island and back was at least two weeks. And it would take time for their allies to get prepared, assuming they decided to even come. In the meantime, all he could do was hope one of their ships would stumble upon the correct vessel and could launch a rescue on the spot. Given what he knew of Drago, that seemed unlikely. About the only other thing he could do was sharpen weapons and ensure they were ready to leave at once when the rescue attempt was finally launched.

Only a handful of people on Berk knew that Fishlegs had sent a letter to Hiccup. Gobber suspected most would not be happy about having to call upon the Dragon King for aid, nor did he want to give anyone false hope. So far the lad's efforts had been unrewarded and Gobber himself was running out of hope that Hiccup would come. He could not entirely blame him, after all that had happened. In fact, Gobber felt the only reasons Hiccup would come would be either to get concessions out of them, which seemed out of character to him, but then again Gobber did not known how much the lad had changed in the past 8 years, or to save Astrid. He knew that Hiccup, like most of the boys his age, had had a huge crush on Astrid when he was on Berk, and he prayed some part of that crush was still strong enough to bring Hiccup to help.

But these were all just hopes for things he could no longer control. Berk was ready for a rescue, but did not know where to go to rescue anyone, assuming anyone was even still alive to rescue. Now that the preparations were as done as they could be, all he had done all day was pace around the docks, watching for any sign of a ship approaching. Some had come and all with no good news. He felt in one day he had aged another 10 years. He just wanted to get some sleep and forget about this waking nightmare. But there was no escaping the reminder that his oldest and closest friend was a prisoner somewhere and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Well it's about time."

Gobber nearly jumped a foot in the air. He seized a candle, lit it, and pointed it at a dark figure sitting in a chair.

"'Iccup!"

"Wrong name, but I get the feeling I'll be saying that a lot." The Dragon King grinned. Gobber put the candle down and gave him a fierce bear hug.

"I'm so glad to see ya alive, lad!"

"I can feel that."

"Still as sarcastic as eva! Where 'ave ya been all these years?" Gobber laughed,

"Oh, here and there and partially everywhere. Saw a bit of the world,"

"From the back of a dragon. Who'd have thought it? Can't say ah ever saw that one comin', but then again, ye were always doin' stuff differently. And look at ya! All grown up and tough. By golly, I reckon ya could whip yer father in a fight now!" He suddenly realized what he had said. "Oh, 'Iccup, I'm so sorry 'bout all that. If I'd 'ave known wat 'e was plannin'…"

"It wouldn't have made a difference and you know it. You know how he gets when his mind is set on something."

"Still…and then there's this mess wid the kidnappin'…speaking o' which, ya got the message from Fishlegs?"

"Yes, and we haven't got much time. We're leaving tomorrow morning."

"Tomarra mornin'? And oo's 'we'?"

"I'll tell you as we work. We need to get the forge going and make these," He held up a piece of parchment with a design on it.

"A pipe and a jar?"

"Not exactly, but you just need to make the metal parts. I'll take care of the rest."

"'Ow many d'ya need?"

"As many as you can make between now and sunrise. We'll also need about dozen ropes and blankets. Best to have some back ups. Oh yes, and a lot of spear shafts."

"All right. Wot's the plan?"

"I'll tell you as we work." He repeated. "Don't worry, Gobber, my tribe members are veterans when it comes to rescues."

Gobber's exhaustion had vanished. A few minutes ago he had felt 10 years older, but now as he led his old apprentice to the Forge he felt 20 years younger.

"An' jest look at those arms o' yers. Man, I could do wid some o' _this_ in the forge now."

"You just gestured to all of me, didn't you?"


	18. Chapter 18

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 18**

 **In The Cells**

The cell Astrid was in was nothing more than a carved out section of basalt with an iron door. The only thing she could see through the bars was a large stone skull, twisted into a face of anguish that was staring right at her. No matter how she tried to look elsewhere it was always staring at her. While Astrid was not unfamiliar with skulls, in fact she wore some metal ones on her clothes; its eternal unblinking gaze was creeping her out, which was undoubtedly the intention. The dungeon was sparsely lit by red lanterns, giving the place a menacing and uncomfortable atmosphere.

Her Chief and his family were in separate cells nearby, but there had been little conversation after the first few hours of their captivity. Occasionally Snotlout would start whining, which prompted his father to shout at him to be a man and suffer in silence, advice which he and Stoick seemed to take to heart. While she was glad when he stopped, she could not exactly blame him for being scared.

She had no way of telling the time, but she had tried to fall asleep three times she guessed they had been in the cells for about three days. There were no windows to the outside where they were, and the only sources of light were the red lanterns, which were never extinguished. The scraps of food were delivered only delivered when Dagur felt they should be, and it seemed he often changed his mind about when that was. Nobody came down to interrogate them, and the guards only passed by on occasion. There was only one way out of the dungeon, so as long as it was guarded nobody had much reason to go near the cells. All she could do was think and pace.

As she paced around her cell, which was so small she could make several revolutions in the span of a minute, she could think of only two things: what had happened to those on Berk, and what was going to happen to them? Fears for the lives of her parents gripped her. Had they been taken too? Were they all right, wherever they were? Every night her dreams had been filled with her parents bleeding and decapitated corpses. Every day she had made great efforts to not think about those and try to reassure herself. Alone in such a haunted looking cell, however, it was all too easy to let fear take over her.

Outside on the ramparts of the main fort, the laughter from the guards was suddenly interrupted by a loud screech.

"NIGHT FURY!"

"GET DOWN!"

The dragon dove right into the midst of the guards as they hugged the wooden floor. With bolts of plasma flying in every direction the men scattered. One turned around and lunged forward with a spear only to be sent flying by the dragon's powerful tail.

" **Oh no! Night Fury! Get down! Some people never learn! Get 'em, Bud**!" The King shouted from Toothless's back.

They rushed along the rampart, dodging arrows. The alarm had been raised now and more guards rushed up. The King heard the loud clatter of metal and wooden weapons. He quickly scanned the fortress walls. More guards were on it. The swarms of arrows and spears would fly thicker in moments. They needed cover fast.

" **This way**!" Toothless darted leftwards and out of sight behind some crates.

Drago had been up on the watchtower when the attack began, and he took the situation in at a glance. He could sense this was an opportunity he had long wanted and he roared from the tower "I want him alive! 10 gold coins to he who brings him to me alive!" Money proved to be a great spur, for some 20 Berserker guards ran after the two.

Dagur arrived, thrilled at the prospect of a dragon fight. "Get them! Surround them!" He ordered. "Get the pikes out!"

One guard looked behind a crate, only to receive a shield in the face.

"Gotcha!" shouted Hiccup. Without pausing for breath he darted forward and shot fire from his gauntlets as he spun around. The Berserkers leapt back screaming, several with flaming clothes.

" **They're coming in on the right too**!" Toothless shouted. Hiccup looked and saw sure enough nearly two score guards approaching, shields up and pikes out. He turned leftwards and saw the same thing. He looked up and saw more archers aiming right at them. He ducked behind the crates just in time. They were pinned down and had enemies approaching on the left and right.

" **Right, Toothless get out of here**!" He said. " **Blast them all you want but get out of here**!"

" **Are you sure about this**?" Toothless shouted at him.

" **Of course not! Now get going**!" The King roared. With a shriek Toothless rose into the air, so swiftly and so unexpectedly the startled guards who were loading their bows dropped their arrows. Hiccup meantime flung a crate into the men approaching and made a desperate run into the breach he had made. Alvin the Treacherous suddenly leapt before him and pointed a sword right at his chest.

"One more move, boy and yer skewered!"

Hiccup slowly raised his hands in surrender.

Toothless watched from a nearby sea stack as his rider was disarmed, bound, and dragged away. It tore him to pieces to watch but he could not and would not avert his gaze until Hiccup was out of sight.

" **This had better work!** " he said bitterly, " **If they hurt my human in any way I'll pay them back a hundred times! If they kill him I'll—I'll—I don't want to think about it! Oh this had better work!** " In frustration he looked up at the sun and shouted " **Would you go down already?** "

Astrid heard shouting and sounds of metal being scrapped around. She stared at the entrance of the dungeon and eventually saw guards dragging a new prisoner into the room. To her horror she recognized it was Hiccup. Other sounds told her that the others had recognized him as well. Ignoring them, the Berserkers threw the Dragon King into a cell and walked off laughing.

"Cozy looking place, huh? I imagine the Christians would describe it as being 'Hellish'" Hiccup said loudly. His flight suit had been removed and he was wearing nothing more than a simple shirt and pants. Astrid grabbed the bars and tried to make eye contact with him.

"What's going on? What's the plan? Is there a rescue coming?"

"Don't talk ta the traitor," growled Spitelout.

Stoick might have had similar feelings, but was able to detach himself from them for the moment. "How did you get caught?" He asked. "What's going on? What's the plan?"

"You'll hear about it when he tells it to us." Drago Bludvist entered the room, flanked by Dagur and Alvin the Treacherous, a man as large as Stoick with a wild black beard.

"Hello, boys," Hiccup said casually, "fancy meeting you here. Do you come here often? The view could do with some improvements, but there's a rich atmosphere that makes one think very philosophically about the afterlife."

Alvin cackled. "Think yer jokes'll save you, kid?"

"Not in the slightest."

"I must say I'm disappointed, my dear little Brother. That was a pretty pathetic rescue attempt." Dagur laughed. "Yeah, very pathetic indeed! As pathetic as a mushroom!" He cackled wildly and then abruptly frowned and pointed a finger at Hiccup. "And I hate mushrooms! Just as I hate people who attack my forts and steal the dragons I'm trying to kill!"

"Yes, well, when I found out that my father and friends were in trouble, I kinda rushed into action without really thinking about it." Hiccup admitted, blushing and bowing his head in embarrassment. "I was too upset to think straight. It's been known to happen. I went to Berk and nearly got killed because I wasn't thinking straight, you know."

"Oh brilliant," Stoick grumbled.

"So ya thought ya could save yer friends by yerself and a Night Fury?" laughed Alvin.

"Yeah, not one of my better plans, I must admit…"

"But there's more to that plan, isn't there?" Drago unlocked the cell door and moved closer to him. "This is just stage one, isn't it?"

"If by that you mean someone else is coming to rescue us, I have no idea, though it's likely. You guys do realize that you kidnapped the Chief of Berk, right? Berk isn't going to take that lying down, you know."

Astrid was listening wide eyed. Was there hope of another rescue?

"Oh we know that. Don't worry, your friends will be taken care of soon enough…but not before we take care of you!" Drago's expression turned from a sneer to pure hatred. "Ever since Fort Flay you've been a thorn in my side; hampering all of my plans, wrecking my weapons…and now you're going to pay!"

Hiccup looked up sharply. "Fort what?"

Drago hit him in the head. "Don't play dumb with me! Now, what's your plan?"

"What makes you think he's got a plan?" Dagur sneered, "This is Hiccup the Useless! Stoick's little runt and disappointment! My little brother and disappointment! We just foiled his plan! We foiled it like a piece of bent tin! O Happy days!" He laughed again.

"He's got a plan, fool, because anybody bent on rescuing someone would stop and think things through at some point! For instance, why'd he insist that the Night Fury get away?" He hit Hiccup again. "What's the game, boy? What are you up to?"

"Augh!—I didn't want Toothless to get caught by you guys, all right!"

"Makes sense by those stew-pid moral standards of 'is," Alvin laughed, "but keep goin', Drago, ah em enjoyin' this!"

"Get me a whip," Drago ordered.

"You get it, Alvin,"

"You get it! It's yer dungeon!"

"Yes it is—and that means _I_ give the orders!"

"Oh for the love of—I'll get it myself!" Drago stepped out.

"You know, there's no real need to," Hiccup laughed nervously, "I'm sure we can come to some kind of…mutual understanding, perhaps?"

"Then tell us what we want to know," Alvin sneered. "Where are your dragons hiding?"

"Somewhere safe."

"Why didn't ya bring 'em with ya?"

"So you'd never get your hands on them." Hiccup snarled.

"Is that so?" Drago returned carrying a long and thick cat-o-nine tails. He eyed Stoick. "Stoick's little runt, right? You would hate to see your kid in pain, wouldn't you, Stoick?"

"He's not my son," Stoick replied coldly, "Beating him will get no reaction from any of us," Whether he meant this or was bluffing Astrid could not determine.

"Ah, well, it doesn't matter. Nice shirt, you've got, boy. Very nice indeed." Astrid heard cloth being ripped. "Well, well, well, look at that back! Quite a few scars on you, huh? Adoncia's doing, I imagine. She'll be very glad to see you again. Now, boy, where are the dragons and what's the plan?" There was a crack of a whip. Hiccup stifled a cry. "Where are they?" Another crack. "What are you up to?" Hiccup continued to hold his tongue. Astrid clenched the bars so hard her hands hurt.

"Harder, Drago," Alvin suggested.

"My pleasure." The crack of the whip became louder and this time Hiccup couldn't stop himself. His screams echoed through the dungeon.

Snotlout had a clear line of vision of Hiccup. He was so horrified at what he was watching that he could not look away.

"Don't break," Stoick whispered. Over Hiccup's screams nobody heard him.

At last Drago lowered the whip. Hiccup lay on the ground whimpering.

"If I kept going you'd get used to the lashing. So let's take a pause with the whip."

"Stop it!" Hiccup moaned.

"Tell me what I want to know!" Astrid saw Drago pick the boy up like he was a doll and punch him in the face. "TALK!"

"With a mouth full of broken teeth?" Hiccup spat. Drago threw him onto the floor and kicked hard him in the chest. It was a wonder his ribs did not break. "WHAT IS YOUR PLAN? WHERE ARE THE DRAGONS HIDDING?"

"I DON'T KNOW! STOP IT, PLEASE!" Drago raised the whip and brought it down with an even louder crack.

Suddenly Astrid could not take it anymore. "Leave him alone!"

"Yer gonna be next if ya don't shut up!" Alvin snapped, "Ya might jest be next ennyway!"

Drago picked up Hiccup and threw him to the floor again. There was a sickening crunch.

"Don't break, son," Stoick whispered again. He had to remind himself not to break either.

"Does this upset ya, Stoick?" Alvin sneered, "Does it _pain_ ya to see yer son in _such_ agony?"

"He's not my son," Stoick growled loudly, "I disowned him, remember?"

"And ya don't have any fatherly e-fection left? And I thought _I_ woz 'eartless! Well, Miss 'offerson? I've 'eard it said this kid used to worship ya! Does it not pain ya to see 'im like this?"

"I doubt it!" Hiccup spat, "She fought against me on Berk, didn't you know? She's not an ally of mine!"

Astrid kept silent. 'Don't give them satisfaction.' she told herself, 'don't give them satisfaction.' Her silence and his own words did nothing for Hiccup, as Drago went back to using the whip again.

"TALK YOU RAT!"

"AUGH!"

"TALK!"

"Let me help! My poor whip is longing to have some human flesh for company!" Dagur said, holding up his own whip. The screaming grew worse as they increased the ferocity of their strikes.

"TALK!" Drago roared again.

"ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT, THERE'S A FLEET COMING HERE IN THREE DAYS, JUST PLEASE STOP IT!" Hiccup was in tears now.

Dagur suddenly looked concerned. "A fleet! What fleet? How big?"

"Forty ships, at least…" Hiccup groaned.

"And they'll be 'ere in three days, ya say?" Alvin grinned, "Plenty o' time to prepare!"

Drago kicked the boy. "It's pathetic how weak you are. It's a marvel someone like you survived this long. If you had live in my land you would have been dead decades ago."

"Tell me more about the fleet coming," Dagur ordered as he kicked Hiccup. "Tell me!"

"Berk called out for help…I asked them to give me a chance to save you first…the idea was if I succeeded it would prevent more bloodshed…if I failed they'd come for all of us…"

"And the dragons?"

"They aren't coming. I didn't want any dragons involved except Toothless…and he's far away now…and nobody else wanted them to come..."

"Do ya believe 'im?" Alvin asked.

"I never believe anyone who's an enemy." Drago growled. "And it might be too soon for a rescue to get here. But we can't afford to take the risk. Start preparations."

"I give the orders here!"

"Then give them."

"And jest wot are we gonna do 'bout the runt?"

Drago smiled. "I'm not finished with him yet. But we'll come back later. For now, let him lay there like the pitiful rat he is, knowing that he's failed in everything and that his talking has doomed any hope of a rescue. And to know that if he'd just had more strength and willpower he might have succeeded!" This was directed at the prisoners. Drago kicked Hiccup into his cell and slammed the door and locked it. "Goodbye for the moment, your majesty!" The three of them left laughing.

For a while nobody spoke. The only sound was Hiccup's labored breathing. Then Spitelout suddenly pounded his fist against the door.

"Augh! That's fantastic! Jest fantastic! Our only 'ope of escape and it's been ruined by a pathetic weakling!"

"Oh shut up!" Astrid shouted.

"Why should I? We're never getting' outta 'ere now!" he spat in disgust, "I 'ope you're 'appy, 'Dragon _King_!' Thanks to you our fleet is gonna sail right inta a trap! I'll be sure to tell any survivors that join us just 'ow they were captured! Maybe Dagur will let us wring your filthy neck for this, because I'd really like to! See what a pathetic wimp you have for a son, Stoick?"

"Leave him alone, Spitelout!" Astrid snarled. "Hasn't he been through enough already?"

"Astrid…" Hiccup moaned,

"And she's defending him! He's a demon lover, traitor, and a weakling, and she still defends him! Just _look_ at him, Stoick!"

"I'm looking, Brother," Stoick said softly. Hiccup limply raised his head and looked at his onetime father.

"A true Viking would never 'ave cracked under torture!" Spitelout sneered. "You make me sick ta think my blood is in ya! I can't even stand to look at you! I just 'ope they finish ya off soon enough so you can't do us any more 'arm, you piece of FILTH!" He spat at Hiccup and turned away. Nobody saw the look of absolute terror he now had on his face.

Astrid fought to keep tears running down her cheeks. "How could you…he's just been tortured…and you've done nothing to silence him!" She screamed at Stoick, "He's your _son_!"

"I've said it before, and I'm going to repeat it for as long as I live: I've never had a son!" He winked at Hiccup, but nobody else saw it. Astrid was furious.

"A fine bunch of people you are! You try to capture a good man who's done you no harm and then nearly killed him even when you knew he was your own son, and now, after he comes to try and help us and gets flogged for it, what do you say to him? You make me sick, all of you—especially you, Stoick! And I don't care if I'm not going to be Chief anymore for saying that, because I'm not sure I want it now if this is what it means to be one!"

"Oh, are ya upset?" Spitelout sneered, hoping the fear in his voice was not evident, "Go on and cry like a big baby, girl! Ya know, Stoick, ya could still make Snotlout yer heir. We've got no use for a crier as our Chief!"

Stoick did not reply to this. Astrid's words had felt like a knife in his chest.

"We're doomed," Snotlout moaned quietly, "We'll never get out of here."

Hiccup suddenly began moaning.

"Don't do it, please don't do it—I don't know anything!" he kept repeating.

"What is _he_ whining about?" Spitelout asked in disgust.

"Stop it, please, I don't know!" Hiccup's body began contorting and squirming.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked nervously.

Still repeating his earlier words his body began to violently shake as if he was having a seizure.

"Hiccup, snap out of it!"

"Stop it, please! I don't know anything!" Hiccup screamed. He clenched his head as if it was going to split open and rolled on the floor, violently changing directions at random moments. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"What's the matter with him?" Snotlout screamed.

"He's gone crazy!"

"Hiccup, what is it?" Stoick could not keep the worry out of his voice.

"Hiccup, it's all right!" Astrid shouted, "Whatever you're thinking of, it's not happening!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Oh for Thor's Sake, shut up, Useless!" Spitelout pried a rock out from the wall and threw it at Hiccup. It hit him on the back, making him cry out in pain, but it had the desired effect. The spasms suddenly stopped and Hiccup began to take deep breaths.

"What was _that_?" Astrid screeched, but Hiccup slumped into unconsciousness.

Spitelout was happy. "Well, at least we've got some peace an' quiet now,"

But all too soon the silence became as unsettling as it had been before.

Outside on the docks Drago outlined his plan for Dagur and Alvin.

"I want him to escape. We won't make it easy, of course, but I want him to get away."

"X-see-a-cuse me?" Alvin cried. Dagur was likewise astonished.

"Yes, escape. Don't you get it? What will give us the best chance of success? His dragons. And where are his dragons? I don't know, and neither do you. So how do we find his dragons? By having him lead us to them, of course!"

"And just how do we do that?" Demanded Dagur, "If he escapes we'll never catch him! None of our ships can go that fast!"

"An' could we not jest git the island's spot by beatin' it out o' 'im?" Alvin added with a grin.

"Yes, I fully intend to beat it out of him, but he might pull something first."

"Then let's go beat it out of him now!" Dagur cried, "Beat him to a pulp! Bash his head in and break his arms!"

"Tomorrow," Drago replied. "Let him go hungry and recover a bit before we open the wounds again. And he won't be escaping on dragons, I promise you that."

"An' why not?" demanded Alvin.

"Because like you, Alvin, the boy is a fool—only in his case it's because he cares too much. He will not bring his dragons here where they might risk getting hurt or falling into my hands. And even if he did, he would know that the other prisoners would refuse to ride them—and even if they did not, we will ensure the harbor is well prepared for a dragon attack, so that no dragon can land near the dungeons without getting killed. And he knows we will. So if he will not and cannot bring dragons here, the only way they can escape—if they escape at all—is by boat. So they will get onto a boat and sail off, and we will follow at a discreet distance."

"Then they'll meet up with dragons and he'll fly off," Dagur objected. "Or that fleet will come and protect them!"

"A fleet can't get here that quickly, you fool. That was all a bluff. And if they meet up with dragons, by that time Adoncia will have returned, and she will follow him on her Razorwhip. If they do not we will keep them in sight. He has to go back sooner or later—and we watch and wait until he does! So prepare all our ships for a long voyage and arm them to fight dragons! And post the guards!"

"I give the orders here! This is my island!"

"An' I am older then you, boy. Ah should give them orders, an' ah say we beat it outta 'im right now!"

"I am older than both of you, and we will do this my way or else I'll feed you both to Adoncia's dragon!" Drago roared. He turned away to bark orders to some Berserkers.

"What a temper," Dagur whispered to Alvin.

"No kiddin'," Alvin agreed.

"What if we just killed him right now?"

Alvin shook his head. "Not until them dragons are under our control."

Hours passed without number in the cells. Nobody spoke. Hiccup had regained consciousness a while ago, but aside from a little moaning and twitching he showed few signs of it. Astrid had asked him how he was feeling and he asked if she was being rhetorical. She decided to let him save his strength and did not press the matter.

If ever anyone had felt despair, it was here in these dungeons. The hope for rescue had died when Hiccup had cracked under torture. Now they were faced with the prospect of a long stay, and were worried sick about those who were coming into the trap their captors were preparing. Astrid wanted to cling to any shred of hope, but in this evil looking dungeon, with the skull still staring at her unceasingly, with all the dark thoughts passing through her head, it was very difficult to be optimistic. Even trying to tell herself that such thoughts were just what the enemy wanted her to think did not help much.

Suddenly Hiccup stirred.

"Do you think night has fallen?" he asked in a raspy voice.

"Wot does it matter?" Spitelout snapped.

"It probably has," Astrid said dully.

"Who cares?" Snotlout asked. He sounded like one who had resigned himself to his dismal fate and had given up on any hope of escaping it. "We're never getting out of here."

Astrid heard a gentle clinking sound. It was followed by the squeal of rusted hinges. She turned around and saw a sight she was completely unprepared for: Hiccup had somehow gotten out of his cell and was staggering towards hers!

"So what are you in for?" He was somehow able to smile and grimace at the same time. Astrid watched in astonishment as he held up a piece of metal and began picking the lock to her cell door.

"How in the—?"

"The first rule to escape," he said as if giving a lecture, "is to always have two separate means of opening doors. In my case, a picklock hidden in the prosthetic—and there we go!" He pulled her door opened and dragged himself over to Stoick's cell.

"You had a picklock? Why didn't you use it before?"

"We have a better chance of escaping at night." He lowered his voice.

"And 'ow do we know this ain't some trick?" Spitelout demanded once he was freed, only to have Hiccup put a finger to his lips. Spitelout's voice shrank to an angry whisper. "You already ruined the first plan and you'll probably ruin this one too!"

"You're welcome, by the way. Stay here if you like it so much. I'm leaving." He turned and began hobbling towards the dungeon's entrance. Spitelout turned to his brother.

"Stoick?"

Stoick gestured to follow him.

"They've got a guard out there." Hiccup whispered to him. He was learning against the wall for support.

"I've got it." Stoick stepped carefully into the next room. By sheer luck the guard in there had his back to him. He never knew what knocked him out.

"He's gonna feel that one tomorrow," Astrid chuckled, "what now?"

"Stoick, get his keys. My weapons and gear are being kept in a chest over—ah, there it is!"

Quickly the chest was opened. It took a bit of effort and gave him no small amount of pain to get his flight suit back on and arm himself. While he did so Astrid took the sword from the unconscious guard. It felt good to have a weapon back in her hand. Stoick and Spitelout meantime had taken a table and pulled the legs off, making crude but serviceable clubs, one which they gave to Snotlout.

"Right," Astrid swished the sword around to get the feeling back, "let's get out of here!"

Stoick nodded. "Agreed. Our best hope is to steal a ship and be out to sea before they know it." He glanced at Hiccup, who was leaning against another wall for support, "think you can keep up?"

"Yes, but our best hope is to get to the watchtower."

Stoick frowned. "Why the watchtower?"

"Because that's where our rescuers will be meeting us."

"What rescuers?"

"Can we discuss this later?" Hiccup whispered impatiently. "I'm going to the watchtower. I promise you, I know what I'm doing! And whatever you do, _don't_ go to the docks! You'll only get yourselves killed!"

"Why? Why should we trust you?" Spitelout demanded. Hiccup, with difficulty, drew himself to his full height.

"Because I'm the only chance you've got." He began walking away. Astrid glanced at the others and went after him.

"Nice to know you've got some confidence in me," he murmured, "are the others coming too?"

"Reluctantly. Hiccup, why the watchtower?"

He put a finger to his lips again.

The passage they entered was well lit by torches contained in stone skulls which seemed to be staring at them. They went slowly, scanning every spot for enemies, but the passage was deserted. The only sound came from their feet, which to them echoed much louder than it actually did. The clang of Hiccup's prosthetic foot made the most noise, and in their tense situation it set their nerves even more on edge. Everyone was relieved to reach the end of the passage and the door.

Hiccup gestured for the others to get close to him. "This is the door out of the dungeon." He whispered, "Once we're through it we cross a room and we're outside. We're likely going to get into trouble now." He did not need to remind them to get ready to fight. "Remember, if the alarm gets raised, run for it. If we have to separate for any reason, make for the top of the watchtower and you'll be fine." He carefully maneuvered his picklock around the keyhole and pushed the door opened slowly. He risked a glance and quickly pulled it shut again.

"There are guards. I saw at least 10."

They nodded. Hiccup counted to three on his fingers and with a roar they kicked the door opened and burst in.

Stoick and Spitelout charged the startled guards, slamming their clubs into their heads and bellies. Snotlout followed their example gingerly, which compelled Astrid to help him out.

"Come on, where's the raw Vikingness you're always boasting about?" She shouted as she blocked a sword aimed for his throat. Snotlout recoiled and fell back against the wall. Hiccup, meantime, had fired a grappling hook from his shield into a torture-rack and pulled on it with all his strength right into the guards standing in front of it.

"Come on, Snotlout, I need some help!" Astrid shouted as she blocked another stroke. "Come on!" But Snotlout stayed where he was. Stoick, having finished his opponent, leapt over towards them and landed right on top of a guard. This left his back exposed to another guard, so Astrid leapt into action to defend her chief. In doing so she left _her_ back exposed to the man she had just been fighting. He rushed at her with an axe drawn.

But he only got a few steps when Snotlout lunged at him and hit him in the head hard. Astrid turned around to see her would-be attacker fall unconscious in front of her.

She looked at Snotlout with a genuine smile. "Better late than never,"

Snotlout grinned sheepishly. "Does this mean you'll go on a date with me now?" Astrid responded by jumping towards him and slamming the butt of her sword into the guard sneaking up behind him.

"I'd say that makes us even, so…no."

"Save it for later, you two," Stoick ordered, "like once we're out of here!"

While this was going on Hiccup's actions with the rack and kicks to the head with his metal foot had left the remaining three guards dazed and unconscious. Spitelout seized a sword from a fallen guard and without hesitation went to finish them off, only to find Hiccup standing in his way.

"Not like this!" Hiccup snapped.

"What?"

"I do not allow killing except in self defense! He's unconscious. Killing him now would be murder!"

"What's it matter how a heart stops breathin', so long as it does?" Spitelout demanded scornfully. "They'd do it to us!"

"And that is why I try to show that I'm better than that!"

"I don't like it either, brother," Stoick said sternly.

"You've killed men you've fought against!"

"That was in battle, not in cold blood. That's not the Viking way."

" **Neither is trying to kill your disowned son** ," The King mumbled in Dragonese.

"The Viking way! It's us or them! We're gonna to stay alive only if they don't!"

"Stop it." Astrid ordered. "We're making too much noise."

They all froze in their tracks and looked around, but the room was completely silent.

Stoick whispered. "Where is everybody else? Not that I'm complaining."

"They're probably outside on the walls." Hiccup whispered, "all right, we get through this door and we're out." He began applying his picklock, muttering to himself when it did not get the door opened as it had with the others. While he fiddled with it the others picked up weapons off the floor for themselves. A wooden club would only get them so far in a fight.

All along the floor were a number of blood stained blocks, whips and other torture devices, a rack, and piles of chains. Over in one corner next to an execution block was a basket with blood running down the side. Snotlout looked very sick when he saw it.

"There's a beam on the opposite side of the door." Hiccup groaned. "That explains why nobody else has come and why they didn't run for help. I can't open it with this unless I…" he reached for his belt, but Stoick grabbed his arm.

"Spitelout and I will break it down. Then we run." He backed up to the other end of the room and charged at the door like a bull. He smashed into it with such force it split in half and the pieces went flying.

"Go with what works," Hiccup commented as he stepped over Stoick and tasted the smell of fresh air. He looked around a corner and came face to face with a guard.

"What? Escape! Escape!" The guard screamed. "Sound the alarm! The prisoners are es—" Stoick flung him into the wall, but it was too late to stop the reaction to his cries. More shouts of 'escape!' went up.

"Now ya've done it!" shouted Spitelout.

"Oh shut up and get moving!" Hiccup yelled. He was already making his way down the road when Astrid grabbed him and pointed in the opposite direction. A group of men had their pikes pointing horizontal and were charging right at them.

"Run for it!"

 **Author's Note: the next chapter will be posted this evening according to Pacific Standard Time.**


	19. Chapter 19

**I Own Nothing—and if anyone hasn't figured that out by now they're clearly not reading the tops of my chapters**

 **All Right Reserved**

 **Chapter 19**

 **Into the Night**

"Oh no! Here comes the big mean dragon!" Dagur cried as he held a stuffed dragon over a wooden boat. "Oh what will we do? It's the evil, mean, unsporting, and unbrotherly Dragon King come to blow us up! Oh no!" He moved a figurine of himself towards the dragon. "But wait! Here comes the dashingly insane Dagur to save the day! Yes! He swings his sword and cuts the dragon into teeny tiny pieces!"

At that moment a guard burst into the room. "Sir! The prisoners are escaping!"

"That's nice. Now he takes his sword and goes to duel the evil, mean, unsporting, and unbrotherly Dragon King! And it's a terrific duel! The King swings and he blocks it with all the—ESCAPING!" He jumped to his feet and ran out the door. "Why didn't you say so?" He ran back in, grabbed his sword, and glanced at his surprised guard in disgust. "And they just had to interrupt my awesome game! That Hiccup he's so inconsiderate; and that Drago and his stupid schemes, he's such a…a…ooh…moron!"

"Yes sir?"

Dagur paused. "Moron?"

"Yes sir?"

"Your name is 'Moron'?"

"Oh yes sir!"

"What kind of mother names her kid _Moron_?" Dagur shouted.

"Me mum thought it sounded sweet!

"Should have named _her_ that. Now, where was I? Oh yes, escaping people! Quick, where's my sword?"

"You're holding it, sir."

"Oh yes. Thank you…moron."

With a roar like a lion Stoick charged straight at the men who were charging at him. So sudden and ferocious was his attack that the Berserkers broke and ran down the street the way they had come.

"Cowards!" Stoick bellowed after them. "Come back and fight me if you dare!" He saw someone out of the corner of his eye and swung his axe, nearly decapitating Astrid, who ducked just in time.

"This is not really the time for heroics, Chief!" she shouted at him as if used to regularly seeing him nearly getting killed. The others, with Spitelout in the lead, were already further down the road. They reached a crossroads and saw more guards coming.

"They won't run this time." Snotlout said nervously. Hiccup glanced around, picked out a house, and grinned.

"Steady, Snot. Quick, give me a leg up!"

"You'll want it, peg-leg!" Snotlout tried to joke as he heaved Hiccup upwards. Hiccup climbed onto the roof. He ran down it and slammed Inferno and himself into the old and crumbling chimney. The chimney should have been repaired a decade ago, for it now tumbled off the roof and onto the guards passing below. Loud shouts of pain went up as the bricks broke on their helmets and pummeled them to the ground. Suddenly imbued with excitement the two Jorgensons charged on the few men who had escaped the barrage. Snotlout inflicted bruise after bruise with his club and his father flung men into the walls and through windows like they were toy soldiers. Meantime Hiccup ignited inferno again and swung it in the air.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Snotlout screamed up at him.

"Drop 'em." He replied as he reached down and helped Snotlout join him on the roof.

Up on a sea stack Fishlegs had been impatiently scanning Berserker Island. His eye was glued to Hiccup's optical enhancement tube (his own term for it). Equally impatient were the Twins and horde of dragons behind him. Most impatient of all was Toothless, who had been pacing in random directions for hours. Suddenly Fishlegs lurched forward with excitement, nearly falling off the sea stack in the process.

"I see him! That's the signal! Ruff, Tuff! Let 'em have it!"

"Up on the roofs again, huh!" Astrid grinned as Hiccup pulled her up.

"A most charming place to watch the nights wonders, milady." He replied dryly. "And Stoick, here's a rule to keep in mind on Berk: never build homes so close together!" Indeed, due to population and terrain, the homes on Berserker were so close and compact that they could jump from roof to roof with little risk of falling. On the downside, Stoick and Spitelout were both very heavy. Stoick broke through one weak rooftop when he landed on it and fell right into a Berserker's bedroom.

"Beg yer pardon!" he grinned embarrassedly as the couple he had disturbed screamed and pulled blankets over themselves. With difficulty and some aid from Hiccup he climbed back onto the rooftop. "Fine time to be love making!" An arrow landed inches from his hand. "Oh come on! How can you dunderheads miss a target this big?"

The man in charge of the archers was shouting the exact same thing. Then he roared "Fire at will!"

"Not at me, not at me!" one archer screamed,

"Wilhelm, will you just shut up and fire already!"

Laughing eerily, Hiccup jumped next to Stoick with his shield raised.

"You go and I'll cover you!" Arrows clanged on the metal.

"Fine, but ya can't hold them off forever!" Stoick shouted. Hiccup risked a quick glance towards the docks.

"I don't need to! Listen everyone, no matter what happens within the next few minutes, keep running and don't stop for any reason!"

Snotlout looked at Astrid confused. "What happens in the next few minutes?"

High up in the air, far above the reach of arrows, Ruff and Tuff were riding on a Zippleback. A flock of dragons was right behind them, each one carrying a jar full of black powder.

"3…2…1…Down they go!" Ruffnut screamed joyfully. Each dragon breathed into their jar and let it drop right onto the ships below them.

Instantly the harbor shook as if an earthquake had hit. A roar like a hundred thunderstorms bellowed through the air. People on shore far from the escaping prisoners were jolted out of bed by the sudden noise. Ships exploded into flames as they were blown in half. Masts came crashing down. Hulls went flying out of the water. Boats were reduced into splinters and driftwood. And up in the air Ruff and Tuff watched with glee and flung down their own exploding jars.

"Take that!"

"Awesome destruction!"

"Eat this!"

"That one's for your mother!"

Meanwhile, down on the water, the ships were suddenly sized in the jaws of Scauldrons, who bit through the wood like a cracker.

Dagur had gone down at the docks been organizing his guards, as he had been told the prisoners would go there. He had a front row seat to see the destruction.

"No! My precious fleet! My precious fleet!" He wailed, "Oh my poor children, why are you getting blown up and leaving your loving father?" He then abruptly grew angry. "Why didn't somebody tell me they were going to do that?" He suddenly spun around, grabbed the man Moron and threw him into the harbor.

"I do hate it when people destroy my ships." He said, sitting down pensively. He then grabbed a mandolin from an astonished sailor and began to sing a Viking funeral song. Alvin and Drago arrived and exchanged incredulous looks.

"Well, 'e ain't called Dagur the Deranged fer nothin'." Alvin said with a shrug.

"Never mind that now! Come on!" This was _not_ what he had counted on. "And open fire on those dragons up there! Fire, you worms, fire!"

In spite of Hiccup's orders, the escapees stopped and stared at the sight. Hiccup impatiently urged them forward. Thankfully the explosions had arrested the attention of the guards as well, so no projectiles were being shot at them.

"Come on!" Hiccup shouted at them.

"What in the name of Thor was that?" Snotlout shouted as they ran.

"Insane Twins, dragons, and jars full of a combustible powder invented in China." Hiccup replied, rather proudly. They reached the point where they could not travel on the roofs anymore and began climbing down.

"The Twins are here?" Astrid cried as she landed.

"And Fishlegs. We'll be seeing them in a few minutes." He pointed. 200 meters away was the watchtower. "Just up that and we're home free! And then we'll get to see part two!"

"Part Two?" Stoick shouted, "You've practically destroyed the entire fleet already! What else is there?"

"Why, the victory celebration of course!" Hiccup said as if it was obvious.

"I think 'e's as nuts as the Twins are!" Spitelout commented. Seeing Hiccup's eerie grin in the firelight led some credibility to that statement. At once the grin vanished.

"Behind you!"

Astrid ducked just in time again. Drago's pike missed her head by an inch. With a roar he charged, swinging his weapon like a madman. Hiccup lunged forward and slammed his shield into the man's face. Instead of recoiling Drago grabbed the shield and threw it and its owner into the ground. He then stomped on Hiccup's shield arm. Screaming, Hiccup kicked Drago with his metal foot. It did no good, and Drago retaliated by slamming his pike into Hiccup's head. At the same instant, probably without even thinking about it, Hiccup shot fire shot from his gauntlet into Drago's clothes. As they were made of dragon skin it had no effect on them. Drago roared again and raised his pike, but before he could finish him off Stoick and Astrid charged, with Snotlout right behind. Alvin suddenly appeared and slammed into Stoick, knocking him right into Astrid. The three of them fell onto the ground in a heap. Snotlout evaded them but when he saw Drago's massive hulk before him he froze. Drago gave a horrible laugh.

"Afraid to face me, coward?"

Yes he was, at least without help. But he provided enough distraction for Hiccup to use his gauntlet again. This time he pointed it upwards so the fire went right into Drago's face!

Drago ran for the harbor screaming; his very head appeared to be engulfed in flames. Alvin, Stoick, and Astrid had gotten out for their jumble and were standing ready for the opponent to attack. Upon seeing he was outnumbered and shocked by the fate of his ally, Alvin suddenly retreated into the mass of guards that were approaching. Without pausing Stoick pulled Hiccup up and they staggered for the watchtower ramp. Spitelout had run ahead of them once Drago had appeared and had ended up fighting a small Berserker group that had attempted to sneak around and cut them off. Astrid charged in without hesitation and her sudden and ferocious attack drove them off.

"Come on, hurry!" She shouted at Stoick. He was pulling Hiccup, but Hiccup was trying to break out of his grip, shouting that he could manage without help.

Some distance away from the action, Grimm and Evictus sat on a rock and watched the ocean.

" **Why can't we be part of the fun**?" the Timberjack grumbled.

" **Because it's coming to us right now**!" Grimm gestured with a wing. Several ships approaching the harbor had come into view.

" **I'll take those two, you get the other, got it**?"

They swooped down on the unsuspecting ships. With a loud roar the Skrill shot bolts of lightning from his mouth at the masts of his targets. The Timberjack meantime landed squarely on one ship, nearly capsizing it with his weight, and began tossing the attacking crewmen overboard like a bunch of toys.

Up on the sea stack Fishlegs had enjoyed the spectacle the Twins had put on, but as the dragons returned from their attack he kept his eye fixed on the watchtower.

"Come on, come on! Where are they?" He shouted impatiently. "Wait—there they are! There's Drago—look out!" He knew they'd never hear his warning cry but he could not help it, and he was very relieved to see them beat off their enemies. "They're going up the ramp!" He stood up and mounted Meatlug. "This is it, guys! We're going it!"

As if Toothless needed to be informed of that. The moment Fishlegs had stood up the Night Fury leapt off the sea stack and sped towards the tower.

There were not many guards on the ramp and they were easily dealt with. Spitelout was the first to the top.

"Well, we're 'ere! Now what?" He demanded.

Hiccup responded by seizing some of the wood from the signal fire and flinging it down onto their pursuers. His companions followed his example.

"That'll hold them a while." Hiccup said as he scanned the skies.

"But not ferever!" Spitelout retorted. "Did ya bring us up here to make it impossible to escape?"

Astrid and Snotlout looked at Hiccup and were relieved to see he was smiling. "Have you already forgotten about the people I live with?"

"The people you—" Spitelout looked up and saw the Night Fury approaching. A small flock of dragons was right behind it. At once he understood. "No! No, no, an' no! I am _not_ riding one of those monsters!"

"Sprout wings and fly yourself then," Hiccup laughed. "Honestly, how'd you think I was going to escape?"

Stoick was just angry as Spitelout was about flying dragons, but his anger suddenly changed into astonishment. "Is that _Fishlegs_?" He exclaimed.

"Yep! And here he is to speak for himself!" Hiccup staggered forward to meet them. Toothless landed and charged towards him.

" **Are you hurt? How bad? What did they do to you**?"

" **Later, Bud, first let's get out of here**!"

" **No, tell me now so I can pay them back before we leave**!"

" **Another time, Bud. This isn't over, you know that**."

" **It would be over if you let us finish them off now**!" Toothless grumbled.

The King's attention was caught by movement on the ramp. "More men are coming. Fish, can you buy us some time?"

"I'll um…try," Fishlegs said nervously. Actual combat still made him uneasy. Hiccup put a reassuring hand on his arm.

"You're doing great. Just point Meatlug at the ramp and she'll do the rest. Can you do that?" Fishlegs nodded and steered his dragon away. She at once began belching molten rock onto the ramp below them. The King meantime turned around only to find Astrid was already climbing onto a Nadder.

She looked perfectly at ease sitting on the dragon. "I see you brought Stormfly along!"

"She volunteered for this, Astrid!" The King replied happily.

" **I don't like my friends being held prisoners by those murderers**!" Stormfly shuddered.

"Right, now, Snotlout, you're next. Hookfang!" A Monstrous Nightmare landed before them. Snotlout looked the most nervous he had been all night, and that was saying something. "Oh come on, you'll be fine! Hookfang won't hurt you…but they will!" he pointed at the men on the ramp. At that moment the ramp split in two due to Meatlug's fire. They were effectively stranded at the now inaccessible top of the tower. "Ok, maybe they won't, for a while anyway, but you still have to do it! Or are you too scared to do something even Hiccup the Useless could do?" This taunt and attempt at psychology did have the effect he hoped it would. Instead of strutting to the dragon like a puffed up rooster, Snotlout stared at his cousin as if seeing him for the first time.

"What?"

"Snotlout, yer not gettin' on that dragon, do ya hear me?" His father roared. At this Snotlout stepped forward and walked respectfully over to the Nightmare.

"What do you think you're—?"

"That's the spirit! Here, you'll need the rope and this mat to sit on… **and Hookfang—no setting yourself on fire**!"

" **Aww nuts**!"

Hiccup turned to the adults. "Your turn, Stoick! Thornado the Thunderdrum will be taking you!"

"We're not gettin' on that thing!" Spitelout shouted.

"I never said you were! I said Stoick was!" He saw Stoick looked uncertain. "Stoick, what good will honoring Valka's memory do you right now? If you end up in Valhalla now, do you think she's going to be impressed that you died rather than ride a dragon for a few hours?"

Stoick shook his head and came forward. "Fine, but this doesn't change anything."

" **Try telling us that after you've ridden him** ," Toothless smirked.

"And now, Spitelout, you have three choices—stay here and be turned into fish bait when the Berserkers arrive—or starve to death if they don't build the ramp fast enough, which is possible given how they've got a bunch of homes and ships to rebuild too, so I guess you've got four choices—anyway, you can stay here, you can get on Shamrock's back, or let Shamrock pick you up in his claws and carry you away! And believe me, that is not a very comfortable way to travel!"

"I'll never submit ta this madness!" Spitelout shouted. "'Ow do we know you won't drown us at sea?"

"Clutching at straws and you know it. If I had wanted you dead, I could have just left you here and saved myself a lot of pain and trouble! And while I did not come here to save _you_ , I'm not leaving anyone behind now! Shamrock, pick him up!" The Treejumper advanced. Spitelout took a step back and nearly fell off the edge.

"Oh for the love of Thor! Spitelout, get on that dragon!" Stoick ordered.

After the ramp had collapsed, Fishlegs had been observing the action below. Now he turned back and flew near them. "Hiccup, they're pulling out catapults and crossbows!"

"Right, let's get going!" Hiccup climbed onto Toothless, " **Bud, give the order for Part 2! And everyone for Valhalla's sake, climb higher and watch out**!"

After the bombardment Ruff and Tuff had returned to their sea stack base. There they heard the infamous call of the Night Fury. Unlike most Vikings, they had never gotten down when they heard that sound, and now they were thrilled to hear it.

"Time for Part 2!"

"Light 'em up!"

They rushed with lit torches to a large pile of what appeared to be pipes attached to sticks which they had spread out on the ground. The Zippleback took his position behind a number of them. This time Tuffnut gave the command. He had won the fight for it earlier.

"3…2…1…fire!"

The tubes shot away like arrows from a crossbow. They sped downwards and towards the wrecked up harbor, some in a straight line, some in a corkscrew formation, but all headed for the same area. And then they exploded. With an ear splitting boom a shower of bright colors burst into the sky.

"What _are_ those things?" Astrid yelled to Hiccup.

"They're called fireworks. They're very popular for celebrations in China. They use the same kind of powder the explosives used, only this was for more spectacle and distraction than to do any damage. Still, when aimed right…" some fireworks had indeed hit a random target, and more fires were breaking out down below.

"You picked up a lot of things from China, didn't you?" Astrid asked rhetorically. "And I must say, with all of these weapons, why hasn't China conquered the world yet?"

Hiccup laughed hollowly. "The world is huge, Astrid. Even on a Dragon it would take months to go all the way around it."

Stoick was impressed. "I'd hate to be on the receiving end of those things. I might just commission more from you. What I could do with them in a proper battle—!"

Hiccup laughed hollowly again. "Well, Stoick, that's why we're flying so high—watch it!" A firework spiraled up towards them and nearly got Hookfang before plummeting towards the earth again. "As I was saying, I wouldn't rely on them in battle. It's impossible to aim them properly or get them to explode when you want them to. All you can do is point them somewhere, preferably upwards, and hope they go off somewhere you aren't. But don't worry—I told the Twins to use everything, so they hopefully won't be able to use them on Berk!"

"And speaking of which!" Ruffnut sang as they joined them on their Zippleback. The remainder of the flock that had accompanied them had already departed.

"Look at us! We're on a dragon!" Tuffnut jubilantly announced. Stoick looked flabbergasted. It was a sight he had never expected to see in all his life.

Suddenly Spitelout pointed. "Ships! They'll catch us! I'll betcha didn't count on this, did ya, Dragon King?"

Hiccup laughed for real this time. "After all we just did you're worried about two ships? We're well out of range, Spitelout, so just relax. And if my calculations are correct, Grimm and Evictus should be finishing up with those two right about now." Sure enough, the Timberjack and Skrill came swooping towards them.

" **Did you enjoy yourself, Evictus? Did you throw lots of people overboard?** "

Evictus looked very proud of himself.

On Berserk a heavily bandaged Drago furiously watched the dragons leave. The fireworks had sent the men scurrying for cover, but did little damage. Not that that was any comfort, given how everything else had.

"This is not the end!" he roared after the fleeing figures. "This is only the beginning!"

Dagur had finally gotten his act together, had realized what had happened and thrown more people into the ocean, then finally got a salvage party organized. Alvin was off somewhere, either getting drunk or beating and berating guards or possibly both, so Drago was alone with nothing to do but think.

He was not a man who liked failing, but he believed himself smart enough to learn from it. He did not, however, ever admit that the failings were his fault. His plan had been perfectly sound, but the fools working for him had botched it up. It was not his fault! It was all because Dagur had not installed launchers that could fire high enough! It was because Alvin had not properly organized the guards! It was because the guards and Vikings were a bunch of fools and weaklings and cowards! If they had acted with the proper amount of strength and will this would never have happened! He wished he had different allies or no allies at all, but for the moment he was stuck with them.

"As for the King, he's smart, I'll give him that, but I'll show him." Drago growled. He gingerly touched his burned face. He had to admit those gauntlets had been very remarkable. He would have to build a pair for himself someday. "He can't pull the same trick twice and expect it to work." He thought for a minute about his backup plans, but knew it would do him little good right now. The destruction out in the harbor put an end to sea travel for a while, so until Adoncia returned, he would be stranded on Berserker.

"He's bought himself a respite, yes, but it's only a respite." He grinned at the memory of torturing him, "and I made him pay pretty heavily for it!"

Out over the ocean the Dragon King might have agreed with Drago. Now that the excitement was over the King began to feel the reaction setting in. He had almost forgotten his injuries during the escape. He had been so busy and so full of adrenaline that he had barely given a thought to his condition. Now that he could, however, his body began to ache horribly. He'd probably reopened most of his wounds from the cells, and his arm and shoulder started to throb. In fact, most of his body began to throb and burn. His breathing grew ragged and short, and despite the fact it was night he began to sweat and feel feverish.

Since the King was in the front of the group, nobody seemed aware of his condition. Spitelout was shouting about how much he hated this and would rather be back in his cell (something the normally tolerant Shamrock was starting to wish as well). Fishlegs and the Twins were trying to tell Astrid, Stoick, and Snotlout about what had happened while trying to get information out of them. It was proving difficult to hear with the wind blowing in their ears, so Stoick finally told them to wait until later to talk, and each was left to their own thoughts.

Snotlout was trying to figure out what to make of his cousin. Up until today he had seen Hiccup as, well, Hiccup the Useless. Such a title summed up his contempt and disdain for him. But now he saw a brave man who had ignored his own pains and had taken the trouble to save him, to save a man who had made his life horrible at every possible moment. It was as if everything Snotlout had known up until today had been taken away from him. He had been scared in those cells and during the escape, and there had been moments where he wanted to run rather than fight, but to see his weak runt of a cousin fight as if it was child's play, even after being flogged and beaten! He felt something he had never truly felt before: shame.

He overheard snatches of a conversation between the Twins and Fishlegs. Evidently they had discovered such a love for flying and the excitement that came with it that they were resolved to get dragons on Berk or go with Hiccup to the Sanctuary. He wondered if he would go with them. It was not as though there was much for him on Berk, after all. He was clearly not going to be the Chief now at any rate; he sensed the debate would shift to Hiccup verses Astrid. This would make his father even more of a pain to live with, whereas Hiccup had been awfully civil to him during the escape. And he had not deserved any of it. Gods, he had never felt such self loathing before.

The Nightmare grunted slightly. He felt a strange sense of freedom riding him. Perhaps it was how everyone felt on the back of a flying dragon, for he recalled Astrid had made similar statements when describing her first flight. Whatever it was, he found himself enjoying it, and decided that he agreed with Fishlegs and the Twins. 'Let the dragons come to Berk and let me continue to ride Hookfang,' he thought, 'we're Vikings, we can handle it.'

He wondered what his father would think about it. Actually, on second thought, he did not wonder about it. He _knew_ what his father would think about it. The thing to wonder about was what was he going to do about it?

 **Authors Note and Replies:**

 **This version of Drago has a habit of never blaming himself when things go wrong. A very bad habit to get into when you're trying to work with people who have a contradictory opinion.**

 **To the reader Aiacco: Yes, I occasionally make some references in this story, but no, Hercules was not the inspiration behind that Greek tragedy remark. Actually, I think inspiration for that part came from the brilliant miniseries "I Claudius." One character comments that the Imperial family sounds like a Greek tragedy because all the family members are murdering each other.**

 **To the reader Gwencarson126: Thanks for your compliments. Yes, there will be some HiccupxAstrid in the coming future. Some of your questions I leave for the coming chapters to answer, but I'm very glad you noticed Hiccup's reaction to that question about Fort Flay, because it was written that way intentionally.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

 **The Rock at Sea**

They had been flying for about two hours when Hiccup could not take it anymore and called for them to land on a small island, or more like a large rock, they were approaching. As soon as they did so he slumped off of Toothless exhausted.

" **How badly are you hurt**?" Toothless asked anxiously.

" **Pretty bad** ," Hiccup groaned as he slowly pulled his armor and shirt. Toothless took one look at his beaten torso and screamed with anger.

" **Those…those…monsters! I'll rip them to pieces! I'll beat them until they've got no skin left! Those…AUGH!"** he was so angry he could not think of the words to express it. He finally ordered Hiccup to turn over and began to lick the wounds. Hiccup let out a loud sigh of relief. Toothless scowled.

" **I tell you to take things easy and what happens? You get tortured! Why do you always** _ **do**_ **this to yourself and me**?"

Hiccup just smiled. **"Thanks Bud,"**

" **You can thank me better by not getting injured like this!"**

" **Hey, I didn't exactly** _ **ask**_ **them to flog me!"**

" **Barbarians."** Toothless spat. **"Are humans always so cruel to their own kind?"**

" **Some do even worse, Bud."** Hiccup said bitterly. He looked upwards and called to the dragons with humans to land. The rest would return to the Sanctuary or head to Berk and send up the signals announcing they had been successful. Grimm and Evictus would meantime return to Berserker Island and keep watch on it until daybreak.

Astrid had been helping the others dismount (not an easy task considering Snotlout had somehow gotten his shirt caught on Hookfang's horns). When she turned around and got a good look at Hiccup for the first time she screamed. His back was covered in dried blood. Long ugly crusted scabs crisscrossed along flaps of red skin, partly covering deep gouges.

"Oh Gods, Hiccup, I am so sorry!" She rushed over to him, and the others weren't far behind, "what can I do?"

Toothless growled at her.

"He says he'll take care of me," Hiccup translated.

"Wot does a dragon know 'bout healing?" Spitelout asked scornfully.

"He healed me after you bunch threw a spear into my shoulder, didn't he? Anyway, Night Fury saliva has healing properties in it."

Stoick tried to approach him too, but the dragons sitting near Hiccup at once hissed at him. It was clear they would not allow him near their human, and Stoick could only stare at the young man's back from a distance. He could not figure out what else to do or say.

The younger humans were trusted more and allowed to get close to Hiccup. Fishlegs poured the contents of his water skin into Hiccup's helmet and Astrid took a rag and began to wash his face. Ruffnut, who had a little medical knowledge, began to examine Hiccup's other injuries, while the boys began to set up a makeshift campsite. Snotlout was very glad to be able to do something to get his mind off of the past few days. When he glimpsed his cousin's back he walked away feeling sick and shivering.

"I'm guessing we're staying here tonight, sir. It's as good a place as any." Fishlegs told Stoick, who merely nodded.

"So, Hiccup," Astrid said, "is now the time to tell us what the plan was?"

"I'd like to hear this too," Stoick agreed. Now that they had landed he was not feeling as cheerful as he had been. In fact, he was a bit angry at Hiccup's apparent recklessness. "What on earth were you thinking?"

"Actually, baring my physical condition, everything went exactly as planned." Hiccup smirked. Spitelout snorted.

"Oh yes? Including the part where ya cracked and told 'em everything?"

"Am I really that good of an actor?" Hiccup shook his head, disrupting Astrid's attempts to wipe it off. "I only told them what I wanted them to believe."

"That was all a lie?" Stoick exclaimed.

"Partly."

Fishlegs interrupted "A fleet is assembling, sir, but they would not have arrived for nearly 2 weeks. I felt we couldn't wait that long, so I sent for him and we put this plan together. But I didn't know that you were going to get tortured for it." He looked at Hiccup accusingly.

"And let yerself git caught!" Spitelout sneered.

"Well obviously! I—ow—didn't know where you were being kept, so Toothless and I staged a rescue attempt. All I then had to do was to wait until night and pick the locks."

"Was getting tortured part of your plan?" Astrid asked hoarsely.

He looked away from her and spoke in broken tones. "It was—ouch—a risk I had to take. I prepared for it…came up with some things to say when we were flying there." He tried to sound casual about it, but in fact his body was screaming at him with every slight movement.

Stoick was impressed. "So you only pretended to crack?"

"Ah highly doubt that."

"Shut up, Spitelout!" Stoick snapped.

"What are ya taking his side for?" demanded his brother.

"Because I'd like to hear what he has to say!"

"What he has to—!"

"Dad, he just saved all of our lives! You could show a little gratitude!" Snotlout suddenly shouted. Everybody, including Snotlout, looked amazed at his own daring. Spitelout was so stunned he was speechless.

"The world is getting stranger every day!" Hiccup commented. "And the screams were real… _very_ real." Toothless flinched at this. "But if I'd told them everything before they laid a hand on me, it would have seemed suspicious to them. I'm not sure I really fooled Drago, but as he said, they couldn't take the risk."

"But why didn't you tell us this when we were locked up? Why didn't you tell me you were only faking it, and had another way to get us out? It would have made us all feel a lot better to know that!"

"Would it have?" Hiccup rasped. He turned his head to look Stoick in the eye. "I I didn't tell you because I didn't want to risk being overheard."

Stoick admitted that made perfect sense, and it was not like he had given him any reason to entrust any secrets with him. His own words came back to him: " _I've never had a son._ " Dear Odin, even if he had not meant it then, how could he have said such a thing? How could he have said it when he had actually meant it?

"And ya risked everythin' on the 'ope that they wouldn't remove yer pegleg?"

"No, actually," Hiccup grinned, "You know, Spitelout, you've heaped a great deal of verbal abuse on me, but I've actually kinda enjoyed it—I knew even in those cells I'd have the last laugh, so your pathetic attempts to insult me have been more amusing than hurtful."

Spitelout looked taken aback at this.

"You know," Hiccup remarked after a long silence, still lying on his stomach and avoiding Stoick's gaze, "Astrid told me once I tend to talk more than I should, so for this plan I thought I'd use that to my advantage. I think the act of talking makes torture a bit more bearable. Even if you're telling lies and making things up, it still helps a little. It's like an outlet for the pain."

"You say that like you know," Fishlegs said suspiciously.

"Well, I did just—"

"Yeah, and what's up with all these scars on you? A lot of them look rather old." Ruffnut said sharply.

"And didn't Drago mention someone? A Doncia or something? I forget. What did he mean by that? And what was up with that fit you had in the cells?" Astrid asked.

"Oh come on, he 'ad a fit because he couldn't cope with the pressure." Spitelout said dismissively.

Stoick growled "Be quiet, Spitelout. Hiccup, what is it you're not telling us?"

"Plenty of things,"

"You know what I mean!"

" **Can't this wait?** " Toothless asked anxiously.

" **Yes it can, Bud**. I don't want to talk about it right now, all right?" He had begun to tremble again and the former prisoners had the sense to not pursue the matter, in case he had another fit.

They were silent for a very long time. Then at last Stoick spoke up.

"Drago mentioned someone…someone who would like to see you again,"

"Her name's Adoncia, and the feeling is not mutual,"

"Right. What does this girl have to do with Drago Bludvist?"

"She's working with him. I don't know exactly what happened, but she met Drago at some point and found her ways to be very much in line with his. He gave her a Skrill as her mount and she became his servant, spy, assassin…and interrogator."

Astrid shifted. "A Skrill? You mean—"

"Yeah, I'm talking about Grimm. And boy was he glad when we got those two apart. She'd beat him daily, just for the fun of it. Now she's got a Razorwhip. Sometimes a dragon hunting ship gets by us with some captives on it."

Toothless finally stopped licking the wounds. " **That's all I can do for now. But you've gotta rest this time."** He backed away and the humans could see Hiccup's back looked considerably better. The scars were still there, but freshly made wounds looked like they had been healing for weeks, rather than less than a single day.

"So since you left Berk eight years ago, you've lost a leg, taken a spear in the shoulder, lived among destructive dragons, learned how to fly, been tortured, and fought against a bunch of dragon enslaving madmen! Man, this guy's indestructible!" Tuffnut laughed, hitting Hiccup on the arm and making him groan. "But he's always been that way, come to think of it. Remember the time when we were twelve, when we tied him to a rock and threw him into the harbor?"

"Sure do!" Grinned Ruffnut, "he would have drowned if the water had been two inches higher—it passed his mouth but wasn't high enough to stop him from breathing through his nose! Oh yeah, I remember that! This guy just won't die!" She ruffled Hiccup's hair affectionately, "it's amazing."

"I remember that day," Fishlegs remarked.

"I don't," Stoick said gruffly. He glared at the twins. "What was the idea, trying to drown my son?"

"Hey, don't blame us!—Sir!" Tuffnut said, putting his hands up.

"It's was _his_ idea!"

Fishlegs turned sharply to Hiccup. "You _asked_ them to tie you up and throw you off the docks?"

"Yeah." Hiccup said shortly.

"What were you thinking?" Stoick shouted, "You could have been killed! According to Ruffnut, you almost were!"

Hiccup looked Stoick in the eye again. "That might have been the idea."

Everyone looked startled, even Spitelout.

"You _meant_ for them to drown you?" Astrid shrieked.

"It was so well thought out," Hiccup stared at the sky, "just suggest to them to tie me up and throw me off the dock as if it was a game. I knew they couldn't resist. And it didn't work all because the rope that bound my legs to that rock was a just few inches too long."

"You were trying to kill yourself?" Stoick exclaimed.

"I believe that's what Astrid just said,"

"But—but why?"

Hiccup looked at him sadly. "The fact that you have to ask after all this time shows just how poor a relationship we've always had."

Stoick fell silent at this.

"But things will get better now, right?" Astrid asked anxiously. Nobody answered her.

It being apparent that nobody was in the mood to continue their journey, and in Hiccup's case he was clearly in no shape for more flying, the decision was made to stay where they were for the night. When it came to picking sentries, Stoick declared that as Chief he would take the first shift. In truth, he had too much to think about to be able to fall asleep, and as the Vikings and dragons alike turned in, he began pacing around the island lost in thought.

He looked over at the sleeping forms of the Night Fury and his son. Hiccup was lying against the dragon's side; the dragon was wrapped protectively around him, and its head was resting in Hiccup's lap. It was making some sounds softly, giving the impression that it was crooning a lullaby to Hiccup. Stoick tried to dismiss such a thought as nonsense, but in truth the dragon did seem to be behaving like a parent or older brother comforting a child. Both of their expressions were peaceful and happy. Stoick felt envious of the creature. He felt the dragon had replaced him. He should have been the one comforting Hiccup, yet Hiccup had barely looked at him since they had escaped. Then again, he could not exactly blame him. Had he not just recently disowned him and tried to kill him? He had now learned that Hiccup had attempted suicide at age 12, and he had never known about it. He couldn't even remember that day! Odin, Hiccup was not exaggerating when he commented on how poor a relationship they had had. It had gotten so bad that the boy preferred the company of a _dragon_ , of all things, over the company of his own family!

He tried to find a way to defend himself. In fairness, he thought, he was the Chief and a widower, he had other duties beyond parenting, and there was nobody else to look after the boy when he was busy. He could not be a father and a Chief at the same time. He had tried that at first, but it had become too much of a hassle, looking after a child while dealing people who behaved like children. If Valka had been there, of course, things would have been much different, but it wasn't _his_ fault Valka had died! That had been a dragon's doing, and now Hiccup was sleeping next to one! And truth be told, Hiccup had been a difficult boy to be a father to. He was always so…different. Small, scrawny, a dreamer, horrible at fighting…sure Stoick had not been the best parent, but his son had not exactly been the best son either.

Abruptly he realized just what he was thinking, and it him feel even worse. Was he so horrible a parent and a person that he could not even own up to his mistakes, but made an effort to justify them? How could he blame a mere child for being a difficult kid? And even if it was true, that did not justify his rotten parenting that had culminated in an attempt to kill him.

"A dragon and the village blacksmith grew closer to him than I did," he said mournfully. "Oh Val, what have I done?"

He looked up at the sky. The night was cloudy but here and there some stars were visible. He had often thought that Valka up there among the stars, watching events on Berk. He supposed it was a common source of comfort for those who had suffered losses. But at this moment, he hoped it was not true, for if she was up there, she would know exactly the relationship her husband and son had had. He shuddered at the thought of facing her if he ever reached Valhalla (he took it for granted that was where she had ended up) and could imagine her demanding why he hadn't treated their son better? Good gods, what would she say if she saw that night when he threw that spear?

"Is there any way to make this better?" he asked nobody in particular. "What can I do, Val?"

"Chief?"

Stoick whipped around and saw Astrid standing beside him. "It's my turn to watch, Chief."

"Oh—I must have lost track of time." He looked a bit embarrassed. "Actually, lass, I can stay up longer. I'm not tired."

"It's a lot to think about, isn't it?"

Stoick nodded bitterly. "Somehow whenever Hiccup gets involved it always gets complicated."

"I hadn't noticed," Astrid replied in a tone that matched Hiccup's dry sarcasm.

"Lass, you know him better than I do—what can I do?"

"Chief, I…I don't think I have the right to intrude in that…and I don't think I know him better than you do."

"You lived with him for a whole week. That's more time than I've lived with him in 8 years." Stoick said sadly.

"Well…" Astrid mused, "Sometimes when I've got a problem, I ask myself 'what would my father do if he were in my place?' What would Valka do if she was here?"

"Valka would never have let things get this bad," Stoick groaned, "She'd have paid attention to him…Thor, she would've probably _begged_ him to find her a dragon of her own once she learned about that Night Fury…and I reacted by trying to kill him." He bowed his head in grief. "How could I have done that?"

"I don't know." Astrid said softly, "But look, chief…I think you do know what you have to do now. You've been given another chance that few people ever get. You've got a chance to fix things. And I know if I asked myself 'what would my father do,' I'd tell myself he would try to make amends."

Stoick nodded.

"I can't presume to tell you how to do that, of course. I've got my own share of amends to make, and I'm not sure what to do either." She looked at Hiccup, "but I think a good starting point would be to talk to him."

"About what?" Stoick asked anxiously. He and Hiccup had barely ever had conversations when he had lived on Berk. In his depressed state of mind, he had no real idea what to talk to his son about.

Astrid shrugged, "maybe about Toothless?"

Stoick had been hoping to avoid bringing up the dragon. He saw Toothless as something that had come between him and Hiccup, and he was still uneasy about letting the creature come to Berk. Hiccup might have tamed it, but the fact remained dragons had taken his wife, and the lives of many others.

"Chief, if you want Hiccup back on Berk, you must know by now Hiccup will bring Toothless with him or not come at all."

"I know, I know, but…are we really going to do this, Astrid? Are we going to bring dragons to Berk?"

"I think so, Chief." She for one now wanted it.

There was another problem that Stoick did not mention to her. If Hiccup did return, the Chiefdom of Berk was his to claim. Stoick had hoped that this problem would end when he proclaimed Astrid the heir, but now it had the potential to get even worse. It would hardly be right to just tell Astrid she was out and Hiccup was in, while on the other hand Hiccup's claim as a direct descendant and the original heir was the stronger of the two. Assuming Hiccup wanted to be Chief in the first place.

Stoick decided to first let Hiccup and Astrid talk it over amongst themselves. Maybe the two of them could settle this amicably. And with this decision he made another one. He had been often wished for another chance with his son, and now he had it. He would deserve Hel and all the horrors in existence if he messed up now. And he would prove to Hiccup and everyone else that he could be just as loving and affectionate as that Night Fury. As for what Spitelout had been suggesting earlier, those dreams of conquest and greatness had to go. Or maybe not. Maybe with Hiccup's help they could be realized in another way. But they could not exist at the expense of his son; that much he was adamant about. He had messed up horribly, and he was going to set it right now.

When Stoick finally turned in for the night, he felt considerably better.

'Tomorrow, son, we will begin again. Tomorrow, Val, I will be a father to our son."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

 **Fathers and Sons**

The events of the previous day must have really taken a toll unknowingly on Stoick, because he did not wake up at sunrise as was his custom. He woke up long after that when the scent of fried fish reached. Looking about him he could see Hiccup sitting beside a fire cooking fish, the Night Fury beside him, and everybody else, human and dragon alike, stirring out of their sleep.

"Good morning," Hiccup said, "breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."

"What's that stuff in the bowl?" Fishlegs asked.

"Rice. It's one of the most common foods in Asia, and I've found it to be very filling and nutritious. I've been growing it at the Sanctuary for years."

"How are you feeling today?" Astrid asked as she sat down next to him.

"Better, thank you." He seemed a bit withdrawn today. His movements were much slower and stiffer than normal. The other dragons leapt off the island to fish while the humans gathered around the fire to eat.

"I didn't know you could cook," Stoick commented, hoping to start a conversation. "But I suppose you had to learn while living in the wild, right?"

"Actually I learned on Berk."

"Oh…" What had begun as a way to talk with Hiccup had turned into a reminder of just how little Stoick actually knew about him.

"So anyway, what's the plan for today?" Fishlegs asked, hoping to change the subject. All eyes turned to Hiccup for the answer.

"Evictus and Grimm flew by about an hour ago. Told me the Twins did a really good job last night. It'll take weeks to clean up all the wrecked ships in the Berserker Harbor and even longer to repair and replace them. So for the moment, we're safe."

"Alvin and Drago will have other vessels." Stoick pointed out.

"Some, but it'll take a bit of time for them to be summoned and arrive—unless they use a dragon as a messenger."

"And do they 'ave any of them dragons as messengers?" Spitelout asked coldly. Sleep had not improved his disposition or his opinion of Hiccup.

"Only one that I know of," Hiccup replied darkly, "that dragon belongs to Adoncia, and I have no idea where she is right now. Not with Dogsbreath, I'm guessing."

"Dogsbreath?" Stoick repeated frowning.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot. Dogsbreath and Adoncia were lovers for about a week or two. She got him to slip a little Nadder venom into your drinks, to put you to sleep."

"Why that no good—!"

Spitelout jeered. "So ya don't know where she is right now? I thought you were aware of everything that goes on 'round here! What's the matter? Losin' your touch?"

"It's a bit easier to keep track of slow moving ships than to keep track of a single dragon that can move in any direction, you know. I'd like to see you try it sometime." Hiccup said irritably. "As it is, Adoncia and her dragon weren't seen at Berserk, so they might not know about what has happened yet, and even if they did, they can't do much to speed up ship building, so we've still got some time to plan the next move."

"Which is?" Astrid asked.

Toothless looked at his rider attentively. **"I'd like to hear this one myself, too,"**

"I said we've got time to plan it, didn't I? If I already had a plan, I wouldn't need more time to plan it." He stood up slowly.

"Well I'd say our next move is to go back to Berk." Stoick announced. "I imagine they're worried sick about us. And you need Gothi to look over your back."

"It's in that direction; roughly a three hour flight," Hiccup pointed, "the weather looks fine, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"And what will you do with the dragons once we get back?" Fishlegs asked. Astrid and the Twins nodded.

"Yeah, where will we put them?"

"What should we feed them?"

"Are you going to have Gobber make us saddles?"

"Where can they stay, Chief?"

"Hang on a minute! Who said anythin' 'bout them dragons staying on Berk?" demanded Spitelout.

"Why not?" Fishlegs shot back.

"They're monsters, boy!"

"They just rescued us, Dad," Snotlout pointed out, "and they're the only hope we've got of getting home!"

"Not you too!" Spitelout growled. He glared at his son and then looked at his brother imploringly. "Stoick, surely ya realize that them dragons can't stay on Berk! They'll burn the place down! They'll take all our food! They'll terrify our livestock, to say nothing of the risk they pose to _us_!"

To their astonishment, Hiccup came to his Uncle's defense. "Those are all valid points that I've considered many times. But they can be overcome with a little time and effort when the Hairy Hooligans are ready to live with dragons…if that time ever comes."

"They'll have to get ready really quickly then, because we're bringing them home today!" Fishlegs said excitedly, "Er—we _are_ , right Chief?"

Stoick sighed and smiled. "You're moving a bit too fast for me, Fishlegs. I need to see where everyone else stands on this."

"We've been discussing it ever since Astrid came back from the Sanctuary!" Fishlegs said in exasperation, "I'm tired of talking about it! The time has come where we've got to choose, and after all that has happened, I say let the dragons live with us! Hiccup's been making plans; he'll help us get it sorted out when we get home!" The Twins nodded vigorously.

"Right," Hiccup said as he put his helmet on, "shall we saddle up?" He pointed to the dragons that had just returned. " **You know what to do**."

Fishlegs looked at him curiously as he got on the Gronkle. "Can you teach me how to speak dragonese sometime?"

Hiccup smiled slightly, and was glad nobody could see his expression. "We'll see."

"I hate dragons." Spitelout groaned as he got onto the Treejumper, who made a loud noise.

" **That's rather strong for you, Shamrock**."

" **You try having this guy on your back poking you in every spot and shouting all kinds of horrible things in your ears**."

"What's he doin'?" Spitelout asked nervously.

"He says the feeling's mutual." Hiccup smirked. He went around making certain the others were secure in their saddles.

"Ruff, Tuff, you got the straps on wrong."

"No we don't!"

"Yes you do, if you have them like this they might come loose and…" he sighed and rolled his eyes, "Maybe to _your_ eyes it's correct, but to the eyes of anyone who wants a safe flight…"

"And that would just be boring!"

"Safe flight! Says the guy who found a way to fly by himself!"

" **Oh you have no idea**!" Toothless groaned.

"You're gonna teach us how to do that too, right?"

"We'll see." He moved on to Astrid. She looked uneasy.

"Everything looks fine." He assured her, not realizing that her uneasiness did not stem from the way she was mounted. Or perhaps he did but was pretending not to.

"Hiccup, what's the plan now? What's going to happen?"

"I don't know."

"You said once you were going to tell me everything one day. Are you?"

"I kinda already have, Astrid. All of the important stuff anyway." He said ruefully. To avoid further conversation he moved on to Stoick and gave him the thumbs up. He then climbed gingerly onto Toothless. "Ok, let's go." Without hesitation the other dragons took off into the sky. Toothless and Hiccup sat where they were and watched them leave.

" **They'll be returning to the Sanctuary by late afternoon**." Hiccup said vacantly, and gestured in the direction opposite of where the other dragons had gone. " **Shall we**?"

" **Are you sure about this**?"

" **For the last time, it's the best—** " His voice trailed off as he suddenly realized they were not alone. Stoick had gotten off of his Thunderdrum before take-off, and was approaching them, arms folded.

"What do you want?" Hiccup asked impatiently.

"To talk to you."

"That's a first."

"Are you afraid to hear me out?"

Hiccup shrugged and slid off of Toothless. The Night Fury went to join the Thunderdrum and they backed away from the humans. For a moment the two Haddocks just looked at each other, sizing each other up like a wrestler examines his opponent.

"You sent those dragons ahead without you. Why?"

"They're going to drop off everyone and then head back home. To the Sanctuary." He clarified, in case Stoick misunderstood where home was.

"And you?"

"I'm not going to Berk, if that's what you're wondering." His voice was calm and firm but inside he was frustrated. He had developed his departure scheme specifically to avoid a conversation like this, but it had been all for nothing. "I only came for the rescue, nothing more."

There was another long pause as Stoick digested the information.

Finally Stoick spoke. "Take off the helmet."

"Why?"

"Why do you think? I want to see my son's face again."

"You've said several times you had no son."

"And you think I meant it?" Stoick cried.

"You sounded very sincere. That fact that you tried to kill me minutes later reinforced the conviction."

Stoick sighed. "Hiccup, I'm…"

"No, no, let's not get all sentimental. You made your decision, just like I made mine, and we're both just going to have to live with it. And in fact, I should be thanking you. Thanks to you Toothless and I are more like brothers than ever."

" **Got that right**." Toothless said proudly.

Stoick sighed again. "Son, look, just hear me out, all right? Take off the helmet and hear me out."

"I can hear you just fine with it on."

" **Are you two really going to get into a fight over something so trivial**?" Toothless asked impatiently. " **Hiccup, just take the stupid thing off**." He finally did so with a growl.

"Why aren't you coming back to Berk?"

"Why should I?"

"You do have a duty to it, son. You're still my heir."

"Astrid is your heir."

"Actually, according to Berkian law, the heir is the eldest child of the Chief, unless that child is dead, disowned, or renounces it. Since you're still alive, your claim is stronger than Astrid's."

"You already disowned me."

"Only with words that I wish I could take back. But the law requires more than a few words spoken in anger."

"Then I renounce it."

"Hiccup, you can't do that! As the rightful Heir of Berk You have a responsibility! You can't just toss it aside because you feel like it!"

" _I_ have a responsibility? What about their responsibility to a fellow human being? What about _your_ responsibility as a parent? You've never had any trouble tossing that one aside!"

"And what about your responsibility as a son? You never listened to me, never obeyed the simplest orders, and were always causing me trouble! Then you tossed it aside for a dragon!" The tempers of both men were rising in proportion to the other.

"So the child has to care about what the parent says even if the parent never cares about what the child says?"

"You never listened to me!" They said at the same time. They then looked at each other dumfounded.

" **You two really are alike, you know that**?" Toothless laughed. " **You're both stubborn and hard of hearing**!"

" **You stay out of this**!" The King snapped, but he was beginning to laugh too because he knew the dragon had a point. Stoick backed away a moment. This was not how he had envisioned their talk going. He realized the problem was that once again he was making the focus be on the Chiefdom instead of on Hiccup himself. He needed to change tactics.

"Hiccup, look, I know I haven't been a good father—and I know I'm understating the fact," he added to forestall Hiccup's reaction, "But, after all that's happened…can't you give me one last chance to make it up to you? Can't we try again, Son?" Hiccup shifted his feet but did not answer. "Son, whatever you may think of me, I never meant to neglect you. I never intended for any of this to happen! I—" he looked at Hiccup for a response but got nothing. "I just—I'm trying to say I'm sorry, all right?" He took a step closer. "Once you disappeared and I thought you were dead—"

"You thought it was more important to seek revenge." Hiccup said coldly.

"What else could I do?" Stoick cried. "My wife was gone, my son was gone, and both because of dragons! What did you want me to do?" He steadied himself. "Son, do you know what love feels like?"

"Thanks to Toothless I believe I do."

"Then imagine hate in its place. It can be just as consuming and changing as love can. It can consume a man and control his every thought and act. It makes you do things you would never dream of doing normally. I hope you've never known what that feels like—but I know. Every time I think about what those dragons have done to me and the years of agony they've caused…"

Hiccup stared at the ground. "Revenge never makes things right."

"And what is it you're doing to _me_ now, if it's not getting revenge?" Tears were coming into Stoick's eyes. "Hiccup, the truth is I'm sorry. All these long years I've had to live thinking about what went wrong, and then when I found out you were alive…I was angry, all right? I wasn't thinking! You know how I can be if I get too angry!"

Hiccup touched the spot where the spear had hit him. "Yes I do. Are you sure Astrid isn't somehow related to you?"

Stoick smiled slightly. "Ha. That's actually a pretty good joke, son—you were joking, right?"

"Yes." Hiccup smiled awkwardly.

"Well…um, where was I?"

"Anger management and wanting to apologize for a few recent things?"

"Oh right." Stoick swallowed. "My point is I didn't mean to…you know, throw a spear into you. I was angry, and grabbed the first weapon I saw and threw it at you."

"With very good aim."

"Well, I _am_ a warrior." He chuckled nervously.

"And in the cells?"

"Son, you know I had to deny you when they brought you in! I couldn't give them any satisfaction, and I was hoping if I pretended not to care they might go easier on you! And when I saw what they were doing and saw you resisting…I couldn't watch a lot of it, it tore me to pieces. And yet I felt very proud of you for not talking, and then to see you cave in like that—I didn't know you were bluffing, son! How could I?"

"I wondered even after that wink if you meant what you said."

"I did not! I just wanted them to think I did—just like how you were telling lies to try and fool the enemy!"

Hiccup cocked his head again. "And if I had actually caved in, would you have spoken to me like that?"

"I—that's a moot point because you did not! It was all part of your plan and I must say I was very impressed by what I saw." He smiled again and took a step closer. "The way you fought and gave commands even in your condition…if I had known what you were going to become after going abroad I would have sent you off myself!"

"So now that I'm powerful and strong, you want to get to know me better." Hiccup said in frustration. "Every time you try to compliment me, I get the feeling if I was still the way I was 10 years ago you'd still be ignoring me. Remember that question I asked you earlier? Did you get upset because your son was dead, or because the person you thought you had for a son was dead? Which was it?"

Stoick hesitated. "I've thought about this every day since you asked it…to be honest, I don't know, son. If I say the later, you'll leave in disgust. If I say the former, you'll think I'm just saying what you want me to say. But son…can't we try one last time and find out together? Can't you come home with me? Let me make things up to you?" He took another step closer. They were within arm's length now.

"What about Toothless? I'm not leaving him."

Stoick sighed. "And I suppose your friends will be demanding dragons too."

"I can't answer for them, but I will never leave Toothless."

" **And I'll never leave you** ," Toothless whispered.

"Well, we'll…see what can be done. I suppose a few dragons on Berk wouldn't be too difficult, especially if you were there to look after them…"

"And why should I go back to a place where they hate me?"

"Give them a little time and they'll see what fools they were."

"I gave them fifteen years already and look where that got me."

"Yes, but now you've got the guts and skills to make them respect you. Son, much as I hate to say it, Drago has a point. The weak ones in the world get trampled all the time, and not just on Berk. In a place where strength is essential to survival, it's unavoidable. You've got to be strong in order to get respect from people."

"You and Drago both have the same failing: you think physical strength is the only kind of strength that matters. Strength of the mind, or the heart, determination, the strength of the voice, everybody has some kind of strength in them. The problem is you guys place all the values on one and ignore the rest. But physical strength alone did not build the pyramids or make the first pulley system. Cicero and Socrates aren't revered because they could lift a tree. Physical strength is useless without intelligence, and kindness and love can make the difference between life and death. Yet you only look at muscles."

"Then come with me and show me how to see the rest." Stoick urged, "Show all of us how to see. You've already gotten a handful to change their views and like you. What do you say? Will you come back?"

Hiccup stood in silence for a few minutes. When he spoke his voice sounded raw and he was fighting to hold back tears.

"All I wanted was your love. I'd have crawled over nails and broken glass for it. I almost did. A pat on the back, a compliment, a sign of appreciation…it never happened until it was too late and came from lies and deception. I had no friends, except Gobber, and he could only do so much. Aside from him, I had nobody to say 'it's all right, tomorrow will be better,' or 'you're worth something, kid'. Instead I had people mocking me every day, beating me up, laughing at me, ignoring everything I was proud of…do you have any idea what that does to a kid?"

"I believe I do now. Now that I know you tried to kill yourself once…"

"Twice, actually."

Stoick was horrified. " _Twice_?"

Hiccup shrugged laconically. "Yeah. The same day my drowning plan failed, I went to my room and…well, figured I might as well use a tried and true method since the creative one hadn't worked. But I couldn't bring myself to climb onto the chair and put the rope around my neck…"

"Oh Gods, Hiccup…"

"I'm tired, Stoick. I'm tired of always being different. I'm sick of having a place I hate but want to love—even though I'm having trouble finding a real reason to. I'm sick of having a place I love but is still missing something. I just want a place where I fit in!" He began to cry for real now. "The Sanctuary is wonderful and I love every dragon there, but I'm always made to remember I'm still a human and they aren't. And I can't just go back to Berk and become a Viking, because I know I'm not a Viking and I don't want to pretend to be one."

"Then don't try to be." Stoick said gently, "Just come back with me and be the man you are. Show us who you really are."

"And then be driven away because the true Vikings don't like it?" Hiccup sniffed.

"They'll have to get through me first." Stoick growled. He reached out to put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder but Hiccup, unaware of it, stepped away and stared at the sea. "Son, please. I know now that things have been difficult and I've messed up a lot—to say the least, but I want to make amends."

Hiccup swallowed and checked his crying. "The thing is I've got other duties, Stoick. I've got an island full of dragons who all look up to me. I can't just abandon them. You'd never do it to your own tribe, and I can't do it to mine."

"Yes, but it's hard to hunt two hares at the same time, son. And from what Astrid's told me about your island, I think Berk needs guidance and help more than your dragons do." He said this hoping to lighten the mood. It didn't work, and he sensed there was little more he could say. "Son, I've got to get back to Berk. I am the Chief and they'll be worried about me—and Odin knows what has happened there in my absence. Will you come with me?" He held out his hand. Hiccup hesitated for what seemed like an eternity but then pulled away.

"I can't come with you now."

Stoick felt his heart split. Hiccup seemed to realize this because he added quickly "It's not what you think. It's just that I've got responsibilities and affairs to sort out first. I can't just move away because of a spur of the moment idea."

"Oh…I see…and h-how long will it take to sort these things out?"

"I don't know, exactly."

Stoick decided that was the best he could hope for, so he went to finally mount the Thunderdrum.

"I'll see you soon, right?"

"We'll see,"

"And about those terms of yours…"

Hiccup groaned. "Forget them. I already know I offered them too soon."

"We'll accept them."

Hiccup did a double take. "Seriously or is this another lie?"

"I've earned that," Stoick said heavily, "but I'll prove my sincerity this time."

"And the rest of Berk will be fine with this?"

"I don't know, but they'll get used to it in time. Actually, when I told Fishlegs I wanted to see where everyone stood on this matter, I was buying time so I could sort out my own feelings about it. But he's right. I am the Chief, and if I say we are going to stop killing dragons and start living with them, we are going to. Our people will just have to deal with it. And son, if I don't ever see you again, remember this: I'm…I'm sorry for everything." With those words he kicked the Thunderdrum and they took off. Hiccup watched them go with fresh tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry too, Dad."

Astrid's joy at being able to fly again and enjoy it was more than matched by the rest of the party, except for Spitelout. This was the first time Snotlout had had a real flight, and he now could see exactly why the others liked it so much.

"This is amazing!" He shouted.

"Isn't it just?" Fishlegs grinned. "I could do this all day!"

"What have we been missing out on?" Snotlout yelled to nobody in particular. "So Dad, where should we put Hookfang?"

"You've already _named_ that thing?"

"Hiccup told me earlier."

"We're not putting him anywhere! Except maybe on my wall!"

Shamrock suddenly shook himself violently. Spitelout grabbed it for dear life. "See, they're unpredictable!"

"I think they're very predictable," Astrid said dryly.

"Yeah, I wouldn't go talking about killing dragons while you're riding one, Mr. Jorgenson. The ocean is a long way down." Fishlegs said. Spitelout got the point and did not speak again the rest of the trip. Everyone else did, however.

"I'm going to touch the sun!" Snotlout boasted.

"I'm going to learn to speak to dragons!" Fishlegs announced.

"I'm going to go back to Berserk and burn the rest of the fleet!" Ruffnut shouted.

"I'm going to burn every fleet in existence!" Tuffnut shouted back.

"Please don't," Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Well, maybe I'll spare a few ships…"

"And what will you do, Astrid?" Fishlegs yelled over Tuffnut.

"I'm going to fly to the top of the highest mountain!" Astrid yelled, "But first I'm going to see Mom and Dad and let them know we're safe."

"I bet I'll get there first!" Snotlout called.

"I'll get there first!" Ruff yelled back.

"I'll get there before either of you!"

"You can't get there before me, dummy, we're riding the same dragon!"

"Wanna bet? I'll just turn him this way so I—"

While they were arguing Snotlout and Hookfang slipped past them.

"So long, losers!"

"Hey!"

Astrid grinned to herself. "How about it, Stormfly? Up for a little racing?" Stormfly squawked. "I'll take it that means 'yes'. Let's go get 'em, girl!" They shot ahead and passed Snotlout.

"Hey!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I going too fast for you?" She teased. Snotlout urged Hookfang on and the race began in earnest. Faster and faster they sped, leaving the others far behind them.

"You cannot hope to beat me!" Snotlout yelled at Astrid's back, "I'm riding a Monstrous Nightmare!"

" **I like this guy's attitude**!" Hookfang shouted.

"Then why are you still behind me?" Astrid yelled back.

" **No Nightmare's can beat a Nadder**!" Stormfly added.

"I'm just letting you feel good about yourself!" Snotlout than muttered to his dragon, "Come on, pal, pick up the pace a little!"

" **Maybe if you lost a little weight** ," grunted Hookfang. He was giving it all he had but he was no match for the speed of the Nadder.

"Come on, Hookfang, we can beat them!"

"Too bad pal, because there's Berk up ahead!" Astrid shouted and pointed.

"No, no, no! Come on Hookfang, hurry up!" It was no good. Stormfly was far ahead of the Nightmare and landed in the woods with time to spare.

"I let you win." Snotlout said when Hookfang landed.

"Right," Astrid grinned. Fun as it was, though, she would have preferred to race with Hiccup.

"I did! You're a girl, and girls need more encouragement than guys do!"

Astrid's grin vanished. "Oh really? And now you think I need encouraging to punch you in the stomach?"

"It's always violence with you!"

"I call it communication…and some people need to have the message hammered in a bit harder when they don't listen!" She smiled icily and took a threatening step towards Snotlout, who promptly retreated behind Hookfang.

Over on Berserk Drago watched a dragon trapper ship manage to find a place on the charred dock to be tied to. He hoped very much for some good news this time, but as he boarded the ship he saw the crew members were trembling.

"Well? How many dragons have you caught?" He demanded. The Captain nervously stepped forward.

"Sir—please sir, we were ambushed by—"

"How many?" Drago interrupted.

"We h-had ten, but now w-we have—none."

Drago instantly plunged his pike into the man's chest. With a roar he swung it and flung the luckless captain's corpse into the ocean. Still roaring, Drago charged at the rest of the crew. The ocean lapping the ship was going to be dark red this morning.

"Let this be a warning to you all!" Drago bellowed when he was finished. "I have no room for the weak and incompetent in my world! Anyone who fails me now will go the same way!"

"Like you did any better!" Dagur shouted at him. Drago stormed over and grabbed Dagur by the throat.

"And you, my deranged sir, were playing with toys and singing songs while they escaped! If it ever happens again, dragons will be playing with your bones! Got that?" He turned to Alvin. "As for you…next time you want to suggest we let them escape and follow them, keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you!"

"But _you_ said ta let 'em x-cape!"

Drago would have seized him by the throat too, but Alvin's throat was too big for that. "If you people had listened to me and done what I'd wanted, none of this would have happened! If you had any sense of strength and the will to act, we could have the entire world in our hands!" He stormed away, "I'm surrounded by weak and incompetent fools! The only smart man in all of these miserable islands is my worst enemy!"

Astrid and Snotlout waited another ten minutes before the dragons behind them caught up.

"So Fish," Astrid called as the large man clumsily dismounted, "was riding a dragon your idea or Hiccup's?"

"A bit of both, actually."

"It was so cool!" Ruffnut shouted even thought Astrid was only a few feet away. "He brought a dragon over to us and had us put our hands against its head. Have you ever felt a dragon before, Astrid? What am I saying, of course you have! It's so cool! Next thing we know he was helping us get onto them and showing how to ride them!" She gestured proudly to the Zippleback. Both heads nuzzled her. "Next thing we knew we were flying to Berserker, the wind in our faces, a bunch of exploding jars in our hands, and an awesome and rather cute guy leading us! Ah, Valhalla!"

"Where's the Chief?" Astrid asked.

"I imagine he and Hiccup had some things to talk about." Fishlegs replied.

Spitelout looked relieved to be on the ground again. "I hate flying," he moaned as he clutched his stomach. "I hate it, hate it, hate it!"

" **Can we go now**?" Asked the Treejumper, " **I really don't want to be around that guy any longer** ,"

" **I don't blame you, dear,"** Meatlug said gently.

" **I kinda wanna stay here, actually,** " Hookfang admitted, " **that kid seems like a lotta fun to mess with**."

" **But the Hatchling gave us instructions**!" Stormfly pointed out, a little reluctantly, " **he said 'take them back to Berk and then return home**!'"

"Look at them," Fishlegs said awestruck, "they're communicating with each other!"

"I wonder what they're talking about." Snotlout said. The dragons, minus the Treejumper, looked at them morosely and then flew off.

"Stormfly!"

"Augh! Meatlug!"

"Hookfang come back!"

"Barf n' Belch, you guys get back here!"

Ruffnut turned to Snotlout. "Now you know what they were talking about. Are you happy?"

Snotlout turned to Ruffnut. "Barf n' Belch? Hiccup said his name was Zippet."

"That's boring, man. We gave him a better name."

"Oh good grief," Spitelout moaned, "namin' dragons. What has the world come too? What's that demon lover doin' to us?"

Astrid ignored him. She just watched Stormfly vanish in the sky.

"What's going on?" Fishlegs cried, "we agreed to let dragons live on Berk! They can't live on Berk if they leave!"

Spitelout turned sharply at this. "You offered ta let dragons live on Berk?"

"Yes."

"What were ya thinking, you fat presumptuous—"

"I was thinking of how to bring you all back safely, so I offered Hiccup what I thought he wanted!" Fishlegs retorted. "Forgive me for helping to rescue you! If I had known you were going to be like this, I might have let Drago keep you! I'm sure Hiccup wouldn't have objected!"

"Considering all the abuse you shouted at him!" Astrid added angrily. "Hiccup might not have minded so much, but I for one didn't like it!"

Spitelout looked about ready to hit her or Fishlegs or both, if he could have made up his mind about it.

"Dad, let's calm down a little," Snotlout urged.

Spitelout took some deep breaths. "All right, ah admit, I was a bit—unpleasant in them cells and afterwards. Ah was nervous, Ah was—concerned, an' I get rude like that ta hide it, ah'm sorry, but I don't want them dragons living on Berk, all right!"

"You still could have shown Hiccup a little gratitude later," Snotlout mumbled.

"Like you were any better! Ah saw how scared ya were! Ya can't be a Chief if ya show yer fear that plainly!"

"Chief, Chief, Chief," Snotlout said flippantly, ignoring the advice he had given a minute ago.

"That boy 'Iccup showed more guts than ya—'Iccup the _Useless_!"

"Mind telling me what you've got against Hiccup?" Astrid said sharply.

"I'll tell you what he's got against him!" Snotlout suddenly shouted "He's always wanted me to be the next chief and Hiccup was the only thing standing in the way. He was always hoping Hiccup would get killed in a raid. Now that Hiccup's come back, he still thinks he's the one thing in my way! And he probably hates the idea of being in Hiccup's debt!"

"You shut up! I won't be spoken 'bout like that! That boy sided with creatures that I was raised ta fight an' kill! D'ya think I wanna be in their debt or give up my own home ta those things?"

"You're worse than Stoick is, you know that?" Snotlout yelled. "After all that's happened, you still cling to your ideas about traditions so tightly if they were human you'd suffocate them! And for what?" He kicked a rock. "A stupid title, a position of power, and some honor to the family? I've had lots of time to think while in those cells! Did you notice that nobody came there to rescue _us_? It was all about saving the Chief and Astrid; you and I were the afterthoughts! You know what that tells me? It tells me nobody wants us to run Berk, and with the way you're behaving, I don't blame them! Hiccup is a braver man that you ever have been and he has twice the honor you'll ever have; he saved our lives and you still insult him! But I'd rather have him or Astrid for my chief than take it for myself or be your figurehead!"

Everybody was so taken back by the outburst that no one could reply. Snotlout looked defiantly at his father; everyone else looked astounded at him. Spitelout's face had turned a deep red.

"You kin find somewhere else ta live." He snarled at last. "I don't want ya setting foot in my house again."

"Fine by me." Snotlout retorted. Further talk was interrupted by the arrival of Stoick and subsequent departure of the Thunderdrum. Spitelout gave them an icy glare before walking away.

"What's going on?" Stoick asked. "You lot look like you're on opposite sides of a barroom brawl."

"Nothing, sir. Where's Hiccup?" Snotlout asked.

"He's isn't coming, is he?" Astrid said in an unusually small voice. Stoick sadly shook his head.

"No, he's not—not yet, anyway. But we'll talk about that later. For now, I want to see my village again!"


	22. Chapter 22

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 22**

 **A Night Time Visitor**

Stoick slumped in his chair, happy to finally have a little peace. It had been 3 days since their return, and in that time Stoick had been busy sorting out the usual problems as well as dealing with what had arisen during his 'absence,' including trying to tie up some loose ends, namely Dogsbreath. Search parties had gone around the island and several likely homes had searched, including his shack and Mildew's hut. So far he had not turned up, but Stoick was not unduly worried about it. He had planned to either banish or execute Dogsbreath, and felt that not finding him simply saved them the trouble. Of a further concern, Gobber had informed him that the ships had gone out to fetch aid from the Bog Burglars and the Owl Guts. Rather than send out more ships to tell them there was no need to come, Stoick decided he would welcome them to stay at his island as guests and entertain them for a week or two, as well as discuss dragons with them. He hoped Hiccup would be around by then to support him in this. His plans meant preparations had to be made to accommodate the coming tribes, and these had taken up most of his day. He was very worn out and glad to get a little peace and quiet after dinner.

There had certainly been no peace and quiet when they had returned. Stoick doubted any of them had ever received a warmer welcome, and felt very touched to see his people so relieved to see him again. Gobber had almost wrung his arm so much it felt ready to fall off, he had seen the parents of Astrid, the Twins, and Fishlegs embracing their children as if Midgard depended on it, and everywhere everyone was shouting 'what happened? What happened?' Nobody had seemed too pleased to see Spitelout or Snotlout again, but the latter had joined his friends and their families, while the former had stayed by him the entire time as Stoick told them the story—with a few omissions on personal matters. Fishlegs at certain points was called upon to fill in a gap. It was one of the first times the man had ever spoken to the entire village, and he seemed to find it both thrilling and terrifying. For that matter, everybody found the story to be both thrilling and terrifying. It was the kind of story that seemed set to become legendary among the Berkians.

Only one thing had really marred the happiness of the reunion: Hiccup. As soon as Gobber had greeted them he had asked where Hiccup was, and a few people, including Olaf Hofferson, echoed the question. While Stoick trusted his people for the most part, family matters were still private matters, and he was reluctant to tell them the details. So he replied formally that Hiccup, like any leader, had some other affairs to sort out and left it at that. He told Gobber more about it that night, much to the smith's relief.

Stoick had already noticed a strong turnabout in people's opinions of Hiccup and dragons. It was amazing how fast the mind of the public can change. It was almost scary. The fact that Hiccup had put aside what was likely a great deal of animosity to help them, had engineered the escape, taken a severe beating for it, fought alongside them, and had actually succeeded in doing all of this impressed a lot of people, as had the indisputable evidence that dragons had actually helped Berk out. Of course, some saw everything as an act of manipulation, but the opposition to this crowd was much more vocal than it had been a few weeks ago. This boost in support, however, had the natural side effect of prompting much louder arguments.

And speaking of which, Stoick was snapped out of his thoughts by a loud ruckus in the plaza. A chorus of loud and angry voices began to reach his ears. With a groan he got out of his chair and went to the door. By his time in life it was purely habitual: when people shouted he got up to deal with it. He scowled once he recognized the voices. Spitelout and Mildew were shouting the loudest, while the yells of Fishlegs and Astrid carried over shouts of dissent and agreement, leaving him with a very strong suspicion of what this was all about.

"He saved our lives and you taunt him!" Fishlegs shouted, "He came to help us after we beat him, mocked him, and tried to kill him! He put this aside and saved our Chief! Everybody on Berk owes him our gratitude!" Stoick was secretly pleased to see a majority were nodding and murmuring approval.

"An 'e wants ta bring our worst enemies ta live wit us!" Mildew yelled, but this was old news and few made any reaction to it. "'E wants to make us live with monsters 'oo burn our homes and destroy our food! Monsters that kill our families!" He spotted Stoick, "Chief! Tell me ya haven't given inta this fool's dreamin'! He betrayed us! And have ya realized 'e wants ya to live wid the beasts that took yer wife? Yer lovely and wonderful Valka will be cringin' up in Valhalla at the thought of 'er killers livin' on Berk!"

Stoick eyed him crossly. "I've used that reason for years, Mildew. Look at what it's done for my family. And I highly doubt Valka would be cringing in Valhalla, as you oughta know very well."

Mildew had the sense not to make some snarky remark about Valka's opinion of dragons. Had he not had that sense, a broken and bloody nose would have been his reward for speaking.

Spitelout tried to resume the offensive. "Even so, them beasts are a danger to Berk! Look at what they did to it the last time he came here!"

"We set the trap, Spitelout. The destruction that night was our doing,"

That was a painful subject for everyone, and a lot of people bent their heads shamefully. Stoick looked around at his tribe.

"Look at us. We're a sorry lot, aren't we? I threw a spear at my own son and hardly anybody batted an eye over it! And now that he's rescued me his own people are still trying to drag his name through the mud—just like we did when he was a boy! And we're still arguing over dragons. After all I've heard and seen I've had enough of it! So I'm going to end this debate once and for all: if Hiccup chooses to come back to Berk, he will be welcomed here, and if he offers to let some dragons come and live here, I will agree to it! And if anyone objects to this—"

"Letting 'em here disgraces everything it means to be a Viking!"

"Who decides what it means to be a Viking? Don't hide behind that excuse, Mildew! It won't work anymore!"

"An' 'ow do we know that brat's not gonna enslave us wif 'is savage beasts?"

A loud nasally laugh rang out over them. Heads spun around wildly as they tried to locate the source. Nobody could find it, but it gave Stoick the opportunity to declare his decision was not opened to discussion and ordered everybody to go about their business for the evening.

Sometimes being a chief could be tiresome, he thought as he reentered his home. Every now and then, especially when he had to take care of squabbles he'd rather avoid, he felt a slight longing to not be Chief anymore. Maybe it was almost time to retire. He was not exactly a youngster now.

"People. They'd bicker over having nothing to bicker about."

Stoick nodded. "Ain't that the truth—HICCUP!"

His son was sitting in the chair by the fireplace, a broad grin on his face. Stoick, once he had gotten over the surprise, was so happy to see him he wanted to run over to him and give him a big hug, but held back, uncertain of what to do. So instead he said "Hiccup, what are you doing here?"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Is that a rhetorical question?"

"No."

"Oh. I thought it might be." He twiddled a twig in his fingers. "In that case, I am sitting here to have another discussion with you. I came in through the back door."

"But that door's locked!"

"Yes it was. If you ever want to keep me out ask Gobber to make you a stronger lock sometime."

Stoick placed a stool before Hiccup and sat on it. "How's your back?"

Hiccup made a face. "It's mending."

"Good ta hear."

For a few minutes they just awkwardly looked at each other, waiting for the other one to say something, and laughing at random moments because they could not think of what to say.

"Well _this_ feels a bit strange. Normally you'd be on a stool and I'd be in the chair!" Stoick said at last.

"That was when I was so small I couldn't get into a chair without help."

"Oh yes, but still—"

"I heard some of that argument, by the way. You must tell Mildew that he needs some new material if he's going to make any headway. I don't think people are buying his reasons much."

"Perhaps you can tell him yourself tomorrow?" Stoick hinted.

"Perhaps." Hiccup looked serious now.

"You—you are here to stay, right? There's been a lot talk about dragons coming to live on Berk, and I...if it means you'll come home, I'm willing to try it. What do you say to that?"

Hiccup was touched but kept it hidden. "And what about Drago?"

"What about him? Didn't you say you had plenty of time to plan the next move?"

"Stoick, let me get to the point and the reason I'm here right now. I've been trying to avoid a direct war with Drago for some time, but it's becoming clear now that I'm just hiding from the inevitable. The last time we beat him we mostly just destroyed his base, took his dragons, scared his men away, and forced him to flee. That was shortly before that Chief gathering I dropped in at. At that point I honestly thought he was finished, or just going to be a minor irritant and nothing more. That was one reason for why I showed up and offered my terms to everyone. I thought that having Drago dealt with I had the time to begin my integration plans, and as a result I was a bit too informative. I thought real peace was about to arrive. I was wrong. My information instead prompted people like Dagur to side with Drago when he reemerged. Siding with him promises rewards more suited to their tastes than siding with me does.

"So Drago has gotten places for refuge, ships, and men. His trappers have been out getting more dragons, and we've been stopping them, but even without the dragons he's a danger. After what we did on Berserk I toyed with coming to Berk and starting to integrate dragons, especially after I saw how supportive people like Astrid were, but I've realized we don't have the time. We've given Drago and his people a black eye, but we need to go for the throat now. So I have come to propose an alliance in war."

Stoick eyed him thoughtfully. "Surely you could handle this yourself? After all, you've got dragons on your side."

"I probably could beat him with just dragons, but Drago's getting more allies, and I thought I should too. He's already sent Adoncia to pay a call upon Norbert the Nutjob. I sent dragons to intercept her but she and her Razorwhip fought them off and gave them the slip. So, in a game like this we're going to need all the players we can get on our side." He also secretly wanted to bring the Vikings into safe and close contact with the dragons. Much of his success with Astrid, Fishlegs, and the Twins, had happened after they had been around dragons, and he wanted to repeat this on a larger scale.

Stoick understood. "Like the Bog Burglars and Owl Guts?"

"Exactly. They'll be arriving here in a few days, as you know. Once they arrive we organize and launch an assault upon Drago's forces. With the dragons and combined fleets we can throw Drago off balance and finish him off once and for all. The Berserker harbor is still a wreck, and few ships are prepared. I'd go out and get more allies if there was more time, but we oughta attack now while he's still crippled."

Stoick considered. As a father he naturally wanted to agree with his son, but as a Chief he had to consider other matters as well. "Then tell me why we should go to war for dragons. Don't look at me like that. Consider this as practice. You're going to have to persuade Gort and Bertha about this when they get here, and you'll have to persuade the rest of Berk too."

"All right then, answer me this: do you honestly think Drago is going to leave Berk alone now? As for Gort and Bertha, they're already against him since they haven't sided with him. We've got to unite because we're stronger that way, you know that."

Stoick thought for a moment of that horrible night he had first seen Drago, where he had seen the other Chiefs burn, and his resolve hardened.

"You're certain Drago won't leave us alone?"

"Would you if you were in his place after what just happened?"

"Probably not."

"Then do we have an alliance? A real one this time?"

"I thought you were in favor of peace. That's what you were preaching to us at that meeting."

Hiccup sighed again. "Like I said, Dad, I think we've got a war whether we like it or not. Drago's going to force it on us once he's ready to, so we should get him before that time comes. It's like a fever: you might not want one but sometimes you get one, and when you do, you have to fight it to heal."

"I know what you mean," Stoick shook his head, "Sometimes there's no good option, but an option must be selected sooner or later."

"And the option of doing nothing often makes the problem even worse. So do we have an alliance?"

Stoick nodded and they shook hands, albeit a bit stiffly.

"But you never did answer my question. There's been a lot of talk about dragons coming here. Odin, there's been talk of little else! What do you have to say about that?"

He raised a finger. "I approve of it, of course, but there's no time now. So once this mess is dealt with and Drago is finished, give me one month to integrate a handful of dragons into life here on Berk. If I can convince a majority by the end of it, we will continue and expand the progress. If I cannot, I will take the dragons away and we will never bother Berk again. Is that agreeable?"

A year ago it would have been obvious what his decision would be. Thor, even two months ago it would have been obvious. Tonight it was still obvious to him, but the decision itself had changed.

"All right, son. As long as it does not interfere with our safety and prosperity, you will get your month."

Hiccup looked relieved. "Thank you."

"So does this mean we're good, you and I?"

"No,"

Stoick nearly leapt to his feet. " _No_?"

"No," Hiccup repeated coldly.

"But—why?"

"Really, Stoick? You really have to ask?"

Stoick put his head in his hands, "No, I suppose not."

"Darn it, Stoick, I can forgive most of the stuff before—it's been so long I've gotten over most of it already—but you tried to _kill_ me and you very nearly succeeded! Do you think I can forget and forgive that because you ask me to?"

"Then why are you here?" Stoick demanded.

"I told you why." Hiccup looked over at the mantle evasively, "and…forgiveness is earned, and you can't earn it if you stay separated," The darker part of him actually enjoyed watching his father like this. It felt a little nice to be able to make Stoick upset like this. Of course, he reminded himself, he could not indulge himself too much or it would grow too cruel.

"True," Stoick nodded sadly, "well then…where are the dragons? Where's the Night Fury?"

"He's in your bedroom."

"WHAT?"

"Well I had to put him somewhere. Did you think I'd leave him outside?" He also wanted him somewhere he could attack from if Stoick tried anything hostile.

" **So you put me in the smelliest room I've ever been in**."

" **Oh shush, it can't be that bad**!"

" **You're just used to it**!"

Stoick rushed over to his bedroom and opened the door. The Night Fury stuck his large head out and looked right into Stoick's eyes. For a wild moment Stoick thought he was looking into Hiccup's eyes. He shook himself and went warily back to his stood.

Hiccup's gaze was attracted to a dust covered journal that lay on the mantle of the fireplace. With some difficulty he rose and picked it up. "So that's where this one was. Did you ever look at it?"

Stoick needed a moment to figure out what it was, and then shook his head. "No, I—I couldn't bring myself to look at anything you'd made, after you disappeared. I haven't even set foot in your room since the day I lost you." He shook his head again. "I imagine it's filthy by now."

"It was the last time I was in it."

"You mean you left it in a filthy state?"

"No. I came back here about four years ago. We'd just finished building my room in the Sanctuary. I wanted to retrieve a few things I'd left behind. I couldn't take everything I owned when I first left, you understand. Toothless couldn't carry all of it. Four years later, we slipped back here one night and took what I wanted. Nobody knew we came."

" **Of course they didn't. I am a Night Fury, remember.** " Toothless said. He was having a bit of trouble squeezing through the door to Stoick's room. Stoick's home had not been built to accommodate Night Furies, a fact Hiccup resolved to change if the chance ever arrived.

Curious, Stoick walked up the rickety steps to his son's old room and slowly pushed the door opened. It was even worse than he had feared. Dust lay several inches thick. Every piece of furniture was rotted. Much of the walls were covered in mold and filth. The cloth over the window and the blankets on the bed were raggedy moth eaten and. Cobwebs hung around the ceiling, beetles were living in the corners, spider webs were all over the place, and he suspected some there was a mouse nest or two in the closet.

"Well, this is certainly going to take some time to clean up!" Stoick groaned as he went back downstairs. "You certainly can't sleep in there tonight! Here, you can use my bed until we get this taken care of."

"Thanks, but that won't be necessary. The floor will do fine. We've had plenty of hard beds in the past, haven't we, Bud?"

Toothless joined them besides the fireplace. " **We didn't have any on the plains in African or in the Alps**."

"Then again, those silk beds in India sure were nice," Hiccup said with a dreamy smile. "I wanted one in the Sanctuary, but it gets too cold to use silk for a blanket."

" **And those girls in silk were pretty nice too, you told me**!" Toothless grinned.

" **I'm very glad my Dad can't understand you when you say things like that**."

Indeed, Stoick looked very confused. Hiccup just laughed and suggested they sit down and talk about plans for battle. Stoick declined, suggesting that they save that discussion for when the other chiefs would be there. Instead he asked Hiccup what his plans for Berk were. Hiccup warmed up to the subject immediately. He pulled out a bundle of parchment from his flight suit and showed it to Stoick.

It contained designs of infrastructure and plans for what he wanted to do with Berk. To prevent the food stores from being broken into he wanted to build new ones using metal that would be dragon-proof. He also wanted to use that metal for the floor so a dragon could not tunnel in. He wanted to have better and more efficient fire fighting techniques, and planned to later train a group of dragons to serve as a permanent fire brigade. He wanted saddles, ropes, and flight suits for each rider and dragon. He wanted to use dragon dung for fertilizer, have dragons help with herding, fishing, and harvesting, blacksmithing, and building.

In other words, he told Stoick, he wanted to do to Berk what he had done to the Sanctuary. Above all, however, he wanted people to have dragons to ride and take care of, not as pets but as members of their own family.

"Well that all sounds pretty interesting son." Stoick chuckled. "I wonder what Val would have made of it." Hiccup looked confused. "Ah, I've never really told you about her, have I?"

"Not really. I don't remember much of what you did tell me, it was so long ago."

"She thought like you did, son. She was convinced dragons were not what we thought, that co-existence was possible, and that we were making things worse by fighting them. I remember the arguments we had over it. I was willing to listen in those days because I didn't hate dragons then. Oh, I was opposed to them and killed them whenever I could, but I didn't hate them. So when Valka suggested we could find a way to have peace without more war, I was willing to try, but of course, nobody knew how to achieve that. I mean, I couldn't just go negotiate a peace treaty with them, now, could I?"

"The language barrier _has_ been a problem, I'll give you that, but you can't learn how to communicate with them if you keep killing them!"

"I see that now. Nobody could back then except Valka. The rest of us thought she was crazy, but she was my wife and a dangerous fighter in her own right, so they rarely said she was wrong to her face. Except Mildew, of course, but I reckon he'd do the same thing to Odin himself. And then she was taken and it seemed to prove that she was just a dreamer. And of course, I was left behind with an infant to look after and a huge desire for revenge, and…well, you know the rest."

Stoick was surprised at how much he had just said. It was probably more than he had said to Hiccup in the year before Hiccup disappeared. Once he had started, it just seemed so natural to keep going. For his part, Hiccup listened intently.

"I didn't know mom liked dragons."

"Well, after she was gone I wasn't about to start teaching you what she believed."

"But nobody else on Berk did either, as far as I can remember. Not even Gobber."

"I can guess why. During the first years after her abduction nobody dared say anything about her ideas because they feared my reaction—and they were right to—and by the time you'd gotten old enough to understand, Valka was old news to everybody else, and her ideas had no foundation in our eyes. By the time you were older, it was a subject nobody was interested in." He sighed, "And by then we were growing apart and were barely talking anyway."

"And Gobber?"

"Gobber knew better than to start telling you things about Valka I didn't want you to hear. I was trying to turn you into a dragon fighter, not get you to side with them." Hiccup snorted at the irony of that. "Also, Gobber may have been more level headed than most of us, but he didn't believe Valka's ideas either. And again, by the time you were old enough to understand it was ancient and forgotten history for most of us. Valka was just another casualty in an endless war. Everyone else moved on. But son, there's something I've been wondering ever since I found out you were still alive..."

"You want to know if she is somehow still alive too. It was obvious you were going to ask me that." Hiccup shook his head and considered his answer. "I never came across her, Stoick. I never looked. I never knew she thought well of dragons, and I never considered that she might have survived being carried off."

"But now you do son, and I want your honest opinion: do you think there's a chance she's still alive?"

"A _chance_ , perhaps, but it'll be a very long one. Understand…Stoick, when I ran away, I had to depend a huge amount on Toothless for survival, but that was fine because Toothless and I were already friends. Our very first meeting was not…well, pleasant." Now that he thought about it, he had never actually explained to any Viking just how he and Toothless had become friends. But that could wait. "But mom and the dragon were not friends when she was taken—I'm assuming anyway. And while I'll never believe that dragons 'always go for the kill,' the fact still is that dragons are wild creatures and can be dangerous and yes, some do become man killers—there's a bad fish in every net you know. Unless the dragon wanted mom for some other purpose—and I have no idea what that would be—I don't see how she could still be alive. And if she somehow escaped, how could she have survived over 20 years in the wild without help?"

"I remember asking similar questions when you disappeared, when I was trying some way you could still be alive. The truth surpassed all my wildest dreams. But Hiccup, if any Viking in existence besides you could befriend a dragon and live with it, it would be your mother. In any case, have you ever seen the kind of dragon that took her? I know I've described to you what it looked like."

"Yeah, you told me if I ever saw a four winged dragon with a head like an owl to run and get you at once. They're called Stormcutters. I haven't seen one myself, but my friend Midnight has come across a few. Like Snow Demons, Stormcutters like the colder regions of the world, and by that I mean the regions that have snow and ice that never melt. The places to the far north that make Berk look almost temperate. I'll ask her about them next time I see her." He stood up and faced the wall, deep in thought.

"What is it?"

"I'm just thinking about how to find Mom, assuming she is still alive. Even if she is, it's still a big problem, because she could be anywhere after having over 20 years to travel. I've gone south and east to an extent, but I've never been further west than Ireland, and there's an entire world beyond that. Anything could be out there. For all we know there could possibly be entire countries of dragon riders, like what I saw in China only bigger. That's another problem—it's almost impossible to track a dragon in the air. They can go in any direction and leave no traces behind." He yawned. "But of course, we'll never know until we go out and explore further. Unfortunately, it's too dangerous to do so until Drago and his cronies are dealt with." He yawned again.

"Tired?"

"A little, yeah."

"You should get some sleep then. Are you sure the floor will suffice for you?

"It'll be fine, don't worry,"

"All right then. I've got to send word out about a meeting tomorrow morning. I'll be back in a little bit,"

But neither Hiccup nor Toothless went to bed. Instead they stayed in alert positions with weapons at the ready until he came back. They then waited until Stoick went to bed himself.

" **I'm willing to try again** ," Hiccup whispered to Toothless as they listened for any sign of people approaching, " **That doesn't mean I've forgotten** ,"

"Come on you lazy good for nothing trash! Get moving! Get those lines in place! Hurry it up or I'll use your faces to hammer the nails in!" Dagur shouted. He stormed about the docks, whip in hand and screaming obscenities at the repair crews. They had been working around the clock, trying to salvage and repair every ship possible and make the harbor usable again.

It was incredible, Drago thought as he watched Dagur stomping and shouting. Just last night he demanded someone read him the story of _Oscar Oinker and the Boiling Tub of Petunia Juice_ before going to bed. Now, as crews worked in shifts around the clock to get the ships ready, he was directing work like the world's most relentless slave driver, which was fine by Drago. He was impatient to get going with his plans.

Drago himself deemed manual labor as undignified for a person of his strength and importance. He would do it if it was necessary, but as they had every Berserker on the island at their disposal, he saw no need to assist with the work. He had more important things to do, like meet with Adoncia, who had arrived earlier that evening.

"Dios mío," she had said when she saw the destroyed harbor. "Did Hiccup do all of this?" She had laughed when he told her it was. But now he wanted serious information out of her.

"Adoncia."

"Sí?" She looked at him casually, as though nothing he could say would surprise or alarm her in the slightest.

"Well?" he barked.

"Well what?"

"Don't give me your lip right now; I'm not in the mood! Is the _Czernobog_ ready?"

"Sí, sí, esta listo, sí,"

"And stop talking in Spanish!" Drago knew several languages but not that one.

"Yes it's ready!" Adoncia snapped.

"Good!" That was the first good news Drago had heard in days. "I want you to leave at once. Tell them I want the _Czernobog_ to sail here immediately."

"At once?" Adoncia yawned, "really, mi amor, all of your 'at onces' are beginning to tire me out a little."

"We don't have time to rest!" Drago snapped. "While we rest that boy will be plotting how to finish us off! We must strike him first! You'll never see him again if we don't," he added suggestively.

Adoncia snorted. "Don't try playing that hinting game, Drago. That's my job."

"But you know it's true," he grinned, "don't you want to have Hiccup's chained up body in your arms and plant kisses on his beaten face?"

Adoncia smiled. " _Before_ you kill him, I hope. Making love to corpses is an intriguing idea but I'd rather not. Oh and speaking of corpses, I found someone close to becoming one in a boat out in the ocean."

"Oh?"

"Sí. Guess who it was? No, no, you never will—it was Dogsbreath!"

"That fool you got to drug Stoick?"

"Sí,"

Drago was only interested in what Dogsbreath might be able to tell them. "What have you done with him?"

"He's in a cell right now. I assured him it just was our standard policy and he would be freed as soon as we determined he was on our side."

"Did you tell him this as you were kissing him?"

She pretended to look shocked. "Dios mío! However did you guess?"

"What did he tell you?" Drago asked, ignoring her question.

"Not much. He hid in some old man's house for a few days, then stole a small boat and fled as soon as he could."

"What about Berk? Does he know what's going on now?"

"As far as he knew the Chief was still a prisoner." She replied seriously. Drago hit the table in frustration. If Dogsbreath was unaware of the escape, there was little he could tell them about recent activity on Berk.

"I doubt Berk will want him back."

"Only to use the Blood Eagle on him, I imagine."

"Still, one last time couldn't hurt," Drago decided. "All right, Adoncia, you get your wish. You will leave tomorrow."

She smiled sweetly, "Gracias,"

"In the meantime, work your magic on Dogsbreath and find out everything he knows. And I mean everything."

She smiled even wider. "Gracias,"

At that moment Alvin stormed in. "Takin' too long!" he shouted. He spotted Adoncia. "Oh, pardon me, missy, ah didn't know a lady was 'ere."

"And I didn't know a devilishly handsome man was here either," she smiled, wiggling her hips a little.

"Knock it off you two." Drago ordered. "What do you want, Alvin?"

"This is takin' too long, Drago! Ah want blood! Ah wanna kill some Hooligans!"

"You had your chance several days ago and blew it, didn't you?" Drago growled as he pulled out a sheet of parchment. He wrote: " _As soon as the Czernobog arrives, we will get moving with everything we have salvaged_."

It took Alvin a bit of effort to read this. "Oh?" Alvin grinned, "And 'ow long will it take the—the thing to arrive?" But Drago gestured for Alvin kept silent and wrote back:

" _Are you certain Magodon and Norbert will join with us_?"

" _Yes_ " Alvin wrote back.

" _Will the rest of your ships be ready to sail soon_?" Those ships had been en route to Berserker during the night of the prison break, but had been damaged by some dragons.

" _Yes_ " Alvin could only write a few simple words.

"Then have patience and get out there and help!" Drago shouted. He shoved Alvin out the door and slammed it shut. He heard the Outcast leader storm away muttering curses but ignored him. "He says this is taking too long while I've waited years to have my revenge!"

He touched the burns on his face. The bandages had been removed but the marks remained; red, black, and ugly. He thought over his plan again. It was actually his earlier plan taken one step further in a more decisive manner. The King had the dragons. Drago wanted the dragons. The King would come to help if Berk was attacked. So they would attack with overwhelming forces. The King would either be killed or taken prisoner. If killed, Drago would have to search for the Sanctuary unaided, but at leisure. If captured, this time they would drain all the information, and then blood, out of him. Drago just needed an ace in the hole to counter the King's own advantages, and he had it. With the _Czernobog_ and the flocks of dragons that ship would bring him, and the armies he would soon control, he would be unstoppable.

Such a dream made him shout at a guard to tell Adoncia she was to leave as soon as she was done with the prisoner. He could not care less if she wanted rest; he had a world to conquer and revenge to gain.

 **There will be no second chapter posted later tonight. The next chapter, "Forging Things," will be posted Wednesday the 12** **th** **.**

 **I sincerely hope that all of our hearts, prayers, and relief efforts are going out to the Caribbean and the United States East Coast at this time. I'm almost brought to tears trying to think of what else to say about it. There are moments in a person's life where you know you are watching something historical happening and will always remember where you were and what you were doing when it happened. For me, watching the news the night before Hurricane Matthew made landfall was one of those moments.**


	23. Chapter 23

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 23**

 **Forging Things**

Very early the next morning Hiccup and Toothless made their way through a driving rain to the forge. It was only a short distance to walk but they both arrived soaked to the bone.

" **Boy I'm glad we didn't choose to sleep under the stars last night**!" Hiccup laughed as he picked the lock. Gobber would not mind, or so he hoped.

" **I could have handled it**." Toothless said smugly as they entered and Hiccup took off his cloak.

" **That's because you are a dragon and don't need to wear clothes and build fires to keep warm**!"

" **Are you sure it's safe for us to be in here**?"

" **Who's going to be stopping by at this hour in this weather? Besides, didn't Stoick say we were to be treated as guests?"**

" **Yes, but there are some who might disagree with him,"**

" **Well, if anyone tries anything, they might find they've bitten off too much to swallow."** Hiccup grinned, " **A forge is practically an armory with the addition of molten metal and it'll be a brave Viking who can withstand that breath of yours!"**

" **My breath is just fine, thank you! It's those Vikings that stink so much!"**

He looked around. The last time he was in here he had not had much time to reminisce, as he had left shortly afterwards to avoid being seen and had been busy planning his escape from Berserk. " **Same old forge. I spent more time here than I did in my own house, Bud**." He lightly picked up tools and glanced over the tables. " **Hmm. It looks a messier and shabbier than I remember, rather like the house. Wonder if there's a connection. And look at this, Bud,** " He pointed to a door that led to a small room. " **I used to inhabit that when I was making my inventions. That's the room I hid my drawings of you in before running away. There's where Stoick and I had our last conversation the night before we left**."

It was empty now. He'd made certain to clean it out before he'd left. All the designs of weapons had been destroyed, and so had the prototypes he'd built. He had not wanted anyone getting their hands on them and building them to use against dragons. Anything else that he felt he could do without he had hidden under the floorboards. He had retrieved them the same night he'd raided his father's house four years ago.

"Well, to business. There's a war coming soon, so we'll need new and sharp weapons…but first my prosthetic could do with a tune up." Toothless moved awkwardly to a corner.

" **Think I'll take a nap**."

" **A nap? You just woke up**!"

" **What's your point**?" Hiccup just shook his head and went about his business.

Getting the forge going was easy compared to the one at the Sanctuary. At the same time, since he was used to having a lot more tricks and contraptions it felt a bit like taking a step backwards, like he was using an outdated model. He had to remember, for instance, that Gobber's forge was not heated by a nest of Fireworms but required wood that had to be stoked and added to occasionally. Still, on such a dreary day it felt comforting to feel the warm heat and see the bright ruddy glow of the embers.

He swapped his prosthetic with a spare he had brought along and disassembled it. The springs needed replacing, it could do with some polishing, it needed some oiling, and the toe section had grown overused and dented. He decided it would be easier to just replace it altogether. He made some good progress on it when someone burst in.

Hiccup whipped around with a hammer ready to defend himself. It was Astrid, so he lowered it. That was a mistake, for she walked straight up to him and slapped him hard in the face.

"Ow!"

"That's for ditching us earlier!" She snapped.

"Hey, come on!"

"And this is for everything else!" She threw her arms around him, forgetting how sore his back still was until he screamed.

"Gah! Sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Do you know how to demonstrate your feelings _without_ inflicting pain upon the recipient?" Hiccup asked through gritted teeth.

"Tell me about it!" Snotlout said loudly as he entered behind her. "She loves me so much she's always beating me, hitting me, punching me, kicking me—"

"We get the idea, Snotlout,"

"Oh. Well, she's been doing those things to me for years! Guess we all know who she loves most, huh?" He winked at Astrid knowingly, then flung himself onto a chair and put his feet up on a table as if he owned the place.

"Anyway," Astrid interrupted impatiently, "We were just at a meeting with Stoick, he told us you were back and were in here—"

"I hate having meetings this early in the morning," Snotlout groaned,

"—Are you here to stay?" Astrid asked eagerly,

"For the moment," Hiccup replied evasively. Astrid looked rather disappointed.

"Oh—well then—so where are our dragons?"

Hiccup was pleased. " _Your_ dragons?"

"Yes, the dragons we rode here from Berserk on. Where are they?"

"I know what you meant and they'll be here later today." He and Toothless arrived yesterday to determine if it was safe and the rest had been told to come only if they didn't hear anything. They had not heard anything.

"Stoick also said we're at war with Drago now. Is that true?"

"Yep." Hiccup said glumly.

Astrid nodded with grim seriousness. Snotlout by contrast shouted "Finally! I get a real chance to prove my warriors mettle!"

"Yes, you can finally prove it now." Hiccup replied dryly, "But first you can move your feet; they're on the tongs."

"I don't take orders from anyone except the Chief!" Snotlout said smugly.

"Including his dad," Astrid whispered in Hiccup's ear. Hiccup responded by grabbing Snotlout's legs and pulling them off the table, much to her amusement.

"Hey!"

"I need the tongs."

"Well there was no need to go to extremes!" Snotlout rubbed his legs gingerly. "Sheesh, when did you get such a strong grip?"

"So, did Stoick say anything else at this meeting?"

"Yes he did," Astrid smirked. "He said he's throwing you a big dinner tonight."

Hiccup dropped the tongs on the floor. "He didn't."

"Yes he did! And he said the entire village was going to be there! But that can't be too much trouble for the Dragon King, right?" She threw her arm around his shoulders, making him grimace. "Oh, sorry. But it's good, right? Everybody will get to see you up close! And Toothless too! Heck, we'll probably have every dragon there! Now everyone will get a chance to meet them and they'll become convinced dragons aren't evil!"

"That's…not exactly why I came back, Astrid." She reminded him of what he had sounded like when Astrid first came to the Sanctuary: overly and prematurely optimistic.

"Well, tough luck. You don't get to vanish for eight years and then return expecting to stay anonymous!" She punched him in the shoulder and went over to pet Toothless on the head.

"So," Snotlout said loudly, "getting back to the subject of girls, Hiccup, you must have seen quite a few while you were gone. Spill the beans!"

Hiccup snorted. "What? Do you think I might secretly have a harem of foreign women waiting for me to come home to them?"

Snotlout grinned. "Not a bad idea, if you ask me!"

"A girl in every village, eh?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow as he inspected a piece of metal. "Better watch it, Snotlout. Most women don't like it when the man goes about eyeing other women, and an angry woman is a dangerous thing." He eyed Astrid, who was clearly starting to steam and not because she was in a heated room.

"Oh, I could handle them."

"Sure you could. Like how you can handle Astrid." He added under his breath.

"I heard that!" Snotlout cried, "Like you're doing any better with the ladies!"

"Well I _was_ offered the hand of a daughter of the Emperor of China. I politely declined. I didn't really want to get tied down to a girl I'd never spoken to."

"Was she beautiful?" Snotlout asked eagerly. Even though she had heard some of this already Astrid looked interested, but pretended not to be.

"Sure—but then, anyone with a dozen handmaidens and the money to buy the best clothes and makeup can look beautiful," He saw Astrid raise her eyebrows. "But then again, some people don't need the extra help to look beautiful,"

"True, perhaps." Astrid said dismissively, "Well I've got some training to do and I see you want to work on your forging, so I'll be seeing you later!"

"Training in this weather?"

"In any weather." She replied firmly. "I don't bother about weather since weather doesn't bother about me!"

"And you'll be seeing me too, babe!" Snotlout called,

"Do you ever wish you were blind?" Astrid asked Hiccup as she walked out. Hiccup put his hand on his own shoulder where she had touched him.

"Well she seems a bit informal today," he remarked.

"Yeah, I don't get it. She's never been like that with me!" Snotlout put his feet up on the table again. "Getting back on topic before she got us off topic, did you _never_ have a girl during your time away from here?"

"Nope."

"What's wrong with you?"

Hiccup shrugged. "They just weren't my type."

"Well The Snotty boy here knows who his type is, and that's the one and only Astrid Hofferson! There's not a girl in the world that could hold a candle to Astrid!"

Hiccup privately agreed, but pretended to be nonchalant about it. "I guess, if you like that deadly, confident, divine beauty, Valkyrie type."

Now it was Snotlout's turn to raise his eyebrows. "Divine beauty?"

"That's what her name means, doesn't it?"

"Huh. I didn't know that."

"Perhaps, Snotlout, if you're so eager to win Astrid, you might want to consider finding out a few things about her first." Hiccup suggested, mentally reminding himself to do the same and to stop giving Snotlout these suggestions.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…that reminds me. Did anything happen between you two while the two of you were on that island of yours?"

"Plenty of things happened. I was trying to get her to like dragons after all." And succeed, he could now say without any doubts or misgivings.

"You know what I mean!"

"Why haven't you just asked Astrid?" Snotlout gestured to his nose. "Oh, I see. Well, to absolve you of your curiosity, my answer is in the negative."

"How's that?"

Hiccup sighed. Sometimes he forgot he was speaking to people with a lesser knowledge of words. "No, nothing happened between us."

"Oh. Well, good. Because, Hiccup, while on the one hand, I would completely understand if something did happen between you two because I know Astrid's irresistibly gorgeous, if I find out you're trying to steal my girl from me, I am going to make your life more miserable than it ever has been!" Snotlout spoke with a comical yet evil look on his face. Toothless opened an eye at this.

" _Your_ girl? Snotlout, if Astrid really is your girl, you two have the most one sided and abusive relationship I've ever heard of. And if you're trying to threaten me, it's not going to work—it's hard to intimidate someone who's considerably taller than you." Indeed, although Snotlout was nearly twice the size of his cousin, Hiccup towered over him. "Furthermore, Astrid is her own person. If she wants you, me, or anybody else in the world—heck, if she wants to elope with King Sweyn of Denmark, that's her decision, and not ours."

"Ha! You included yourself in that list! You _do_ have an interest in her! I'll have to add you to my enemies list."

"You have an enemies list?" Hiccup asked, hoping to change the subject.

"You oughta know by now! You've had the number one slot for years!"

"I'm flattered." He finally found a moment for him to thrust the metal into the fire. "So where have you been staying? I heard about your fight with your dad."

Snotlout lost the playfully threatening attitude. "Oh that. Well, Fishlegs offered to let me room with him. Dad won't talk to me now."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Hiccup knew all too well what that was like. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Snotlout snorted. "Not unless you can get him to change his mind about dragons, which seems kinda impossible now."

"Hey, chin up. I'll bet just a week ago you would never have imagined changing your own mind about dragons, and look at you now…" He had no need to finish the sentence.

"Yeah, well, I should be going now. Leave you to your forgeries. I've oughta go see what my girl is up to!"

As soon as he was gone Hiccup looked indignant. " _Forgeries_?"

" **I thought he was never going to leave**." Toothless grumbled. **"Maybe now I can get some sleep."**

Almost as soon as he had left Gobber came jogging in.

"'Iccup, ma boy! Jest like old times, eh? Haha, I've mist ya lad, and that's the hard truth of it!"

" **Or maybe not**."

Gobber came towards Hiccup to give him a big hug, but Hiccup moved away and gestured to his back. Gobber understood.

"Nice to see you too, Gobber," Hiccup smiled as Gobber attached his hammer appendage to his arm. "I'm still alive, as you can see,"

"That's very good news, lad," Gobber grinned, "So watcha workin' on?"

"Oh, just fixing my leg for starters,"

"I'm sorry ya lost it. Ah know wot that's like," Gobber gestured to his own peg leg, "Still, all in the past, we jest 'ave ta make the most o' it."

"That we do," Hiccup replied.

"Ya know, lad, I'm really glad you and yer father are talkin' again. Err…You are, right?"

"We've talked a little. It's a work in progress, but coming along, I think."

"Good, good. 'E told me 'bout what ya did on Berserk. I'm real proud of ya fer doing it, lad."

Hiccup blushed as he picked up a hammer. "Thanks,"

"An' ya finally got yer dad ta talk wid ya! Glad ta know you've forgiven 'im!"

Hiccup put down his hammer. "I never said that."

Gobber froze with his hammer arm raised. "What?"

"No, Gobber, I have not forgotten, nor forgiven, what has happened. Who can lose the memory of their own father throwing a spear at them?" He raised his hammer and swung it much harder than he needed to or perhaps intended to. "Or what everyone else has said about me when they thought I wasn't listening—or knew I _was_ listening? Or the marks along my body that were put there by my own kinsmen and former friends?" He shook his head. "It's not that easy, Gobber. And while I'm willing to try again one final time, I have _not_ forgotten and I probably never will. But I'm willing to work towards forgiveness. He asked for a last chance and he's getting it. Whether he ruins it or not is up to him."

"Well…ah suppose that's only fair…but don't worry! Stoick will make it work this time, an' so will the others!"

"I hope so…say, will you hold the tongs for me? There we go…I wanna get this done so I can walk properly." He gestured to his spare prosthetic. "This one's only adequate."

"Ya gotta show me all them tricks you've got in yer leg, and 'ow it all works, from one smith to another."

Hiccup would have liked too, but he did not get the time. The rest of Berk was stirring to life, and even though it was raining by the bucketful, there was still work to be done. Once he found out that Hiccup was in the forge Fishlegs rushed over and began to bombard him with questions concerning dragons and the plans and telling him how good it was to see him again. The Twins then burst in asking questions about how powerful dragon explosions could be and begging him for more fireworks. Then Stoick came in, happily told Hiccup about the dinner that night and would not hear of Hiccup skipping it. In the spirit of peace and harmony Hiccup kept his temper, though he was pleased when Stoick asked about what he was making and seemed to be genuinely interested in it. But as Chief he could not stay for very long. Other's came in to watch him work, though most were a bit wary of talking to him. But it was a wonder that he had managed to fix his foot by lunch time.

A little while after lunchtime the rain amazing let up and the sun came out, so Hiccup decided to take his new foot out for a test walk. Toothless was still trying to get some sleep, this time in the Haddock house. Hiccup decided to let him sleep or else he would be in a bad mood for that dinner.

It was amazing how the fast the weather had changed. Instead of being covered in dark clouds the sky looked like a robin's egg. The grass and leaves glistened with rainwater. Evaporating mist began rising from the woods. It reminded him of the first day he had showed Astrid the Sanctuary for the first time. It felt like a lifetime ago.

At one large puddle he tested to see how well his leg responded when stuck in mud. Along the muddy ground worms had emerged, which encouraged birds to perch in nearby trees, waiting for Hiccup to move away. Unfortunately for them, his leg got stuck and it took a few minutes for him to pull it free and wipe it off on the grass. Aside from the mud, his new foot seemed to work quite well, he decided.

As he walked he began to sing a little song to himself.

" _My ancestor was a renowned jester_

 _Who sang for a Chola Princess one day_

 _My ancestor found that it distressed her_

 _If, afterwards, she did not hear him say:_

' _I'd place a—"_

An axe suddenly came flying out of nowhere, missing his head by inches, and buried itself into a tree to the left of him.

"I'm disappointed, Astrid!" he called. "If you intended to kill me that was a rotten shot, and if you intended to miss you still could've gotten it a few inches closer!"

She emerged from the trees grinning smugly.

"Maybe I didn't want to murder you by accident," She said, "did you think of that?"

"I'm grateful for your consideration, but I still think you could have done better," he replied with an exaggerated flourish of his arm.

"Well, Almighty Dragon King, if you're so smart, perhaps you'll show me how to aim better sometime?" She pulled the axe free and pointed it at him. "Or would I be too intimidating for you to handle?"

"Oh I would take you on right now, except that overgrown reptile of mine would be furious with me for risking more injuries."

Astrid's face fell. "Hiccup, why'd you let yourself get caught like that? You must have known they would torture you. Couldn't you have come up with another plan?"

He shrugged. "Maybe, if I'd had more time. But at least it didn't happen to you instead."

"To me?"

"Well…to any of you, I mean." He tried to sound nonchalant about it. "Anyway, it's past history now. What matters now is what comes next." He carefully sat down on a log. Astrid joined him.

"I knew it was you," she remarked.

"Say again?"

"I knew you were the Dragon King before you told us. I figured it out after that dinner. I heard you using your forge and everything suddenly clicked."

"I thought as much. Some of your words and actions during those final days clued me in…but why didn't you say anything? _Did_ you say anything?"

"To you or to anyone else? Because I haven't told anyone else, not even my parents." She was rather proud to say so and yet also ashamed to say so. She also saw no need to mention Fishlegs had figured it out, as technically she never _told_ him. "It hasn't been easy, I can tell you, keeping such a secret from everyone and listening to people talking nonsense about you and wanting to correct them. But you probably already know that, don't you?"

"So why didn't you?"

She fiddled with the handle of her axe. "What could I do? Go up to Stoick and say 'Chief, guess what? I think your son is alive, rides a Night Fury, and lives with dragons.' At best they'd think I'd gone crazy."

"True."

"And you saw Stoick when he did find out. Aside from the…the part with the spear, I saw his reaction coming and I did not really want…I didn't want to be the one his anger was aimed at." She looked ashamed. "I've been wondering if I was just a coward who was just looking after my own hide…that's rich, isn't it, the Fearless and Peerless Astrid Hofferson is afraid to tell her chief the truth."

Hiccup shook his head. "Astrid, there's a difference in being a coward and being sensible. Look at me—I didn't dare tell anyone I was hiding a Night Fury on the island because I knew what would happen if I did! I kept my identity a secret as long as I could because I feared what would happen if I revealed it! And like you said, how could you tell him? Did you have any proof it was me?"

"No, I just had my suspicions which you pretty much confirmed. And I guess…I felt it wasn't my secret to divulge. I think I wanted to show you, or maybe show myself, that I could be trusted with something so important to you. I think I was using the situation to try to make amends for the past."

Hiccup sighed and shook his head again. "That whole visit was a mistake."

"Mistake, how? I thought it was a great week!"

"It was in some respects but…I shouldn't have exposed myself like that. I should have kept myself a mystery longer. Look what happened afterwards: there was that trap fiasco, which resulted in my identity coming out, then Drago shows up and kidnaps you, which gets me out into the open, then I get beaten up saving you, and now we've made the enemy angry and vengeful. And it's all because I showed up to that stupid meeting. I could have just let them sit around and debate the mysteries for days without end."

"Ok, when you put it that way, it sounds pretty bad—but there's some good that's come out of it too! You and your father are talking, you've come back home, and I've learned I really like flying! As for this war, don't worry about it. With all of us assembled and those dragons beside us, we'll have Drago whipped in no time! You blew up an entire armada with a few people and a handful of dragons! With a full size army it'll be a cinch finishing this!"

Hiccup chuckled. "Maybe we should just let him take the Twins hostage. Give him a week in their company and he'll be begging us accept his surrender!"

Astrid grinned. "Or how about Mildew? They'd surrender in two days!" Even though he had seen her smile many times, it still put butterflies in his stomach to see how beautiful she looked when she did.

Acting on a sudden impulsive he said "Astrid?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you—and I—I completely understand if you say no, but would you like to—err, get some lunch with me?"

She looked surprised. "Get some lunch with you?"

"Sure! I mean, you can think of it as two old friends getting reacquainted with each other…or…well, how about it? Do you want to get some lunch?"

"Hiccup, we've already had lunch today."

"Oh…yes, well, dinner then?"

"You're father's throwing that feast for you tonight."

"Oh right. I forgot about that. Breakfast, then?"

"I always eat breakfast at home."

"Lunch _tomorrow_ then?" Hiccup asked frantically.

"Sure."

"Dinner tomorr—say again?"

"Sure."

Hiccup was taken aback. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." Astrid laughed.

"Oh, well, that's good, I guess, so then I'll—"

At that instant the downpour suddenly started up again and sent them both scurrying back to the village.

Fishlegs had gone to Mead Hall in the vain hope of finding Hiccup. Instead he walked into Hognose.

"Ah, Fishlegs, ma old pal!"

"Go away."

"Won't ya lend some silver to a friend in need?" Hognose's smile had more oil in it than a sperm whale.

"No."

"No? Very unkind of ya, after all I've done fer ya. Maybe ya need a reminder 'bout respect…" his face assumed an ugly and loutish expression. More accurately, his face reverted to its standard appearance. Yet despite this, he did nothing but crack his knuckles.

"Go away, Hognose. Find someone else to steal from—like Mildew. He's probably doing well considering all the bribes Snotlout's had to give him. Or try your friend Dogsbreath. He'll probably never come back to Berk, so his money's up for grabs—assuming he hadn't lost it all before he left."

"Take that back!" Hognose growled.

"Or what?"

"Or I'll bash yer 'ead!"

"I'd like to see you try."

Hognose suddenly lunged at him. Fishlegs grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him onto the ground. Hognose tried to get back up but Fishlegs punched him in the nose. People gasped but he did not hear them. He stared down at Hognose and shouted "From now on, leave…me…alone!" He walked over to a table and joined an astonished Snotlout.

Mildew leapt over to Hognose and began wailing "Oh lookee wat that man 'Iccup 'as done! 'E's turned our dear an' gentle Fishlegs into a common brute! 'E's gonna do the same ta all of us if we let 'im! 'E'll turn us all inta dragon lovers and enslave us!"

"Oh stab yourself in the head and we'll coat a fläskpannkaka with the jam that flows out of it! Has it ever crossed your pathetic one track mind that if I was so desperate to conquer Berk I would have done so already?" Hiccup was standing near the doors with his arms folded and soaking wet.

The hall fell silent and nervous.

Mildew picked Hognose off the ground. "C'mon, let's find someplace where there ain't no dragon loving traitors around." But Hognose stomped over to Hiccup.

"Where's Dogsbreath? What 'ave ya done wid 'im?"

"Nice to know you actually care about somebody."

"Where is 'e?" Hognose shouted.

"I have no idea. I haven't done anything to him. I know you don't believe me but that's you're affair, not mine. I wonder, though. Did he tell you anything about Adoncia?"

Hognose was scornful. "Who?"

"He really didn't, huh. Guess he wanted to have her body all to himself. She'd have had both of you if you had asked, you know. And used you both to drug your Chief. Nice and loyal bunch of guys you are, really."

Hognose snapped and tried to punch Hiccup in the head. There were cries and benches were knocked over as people leapt to their feet. But Hiccup dodged the movement and grabbed Hognose's arm.

"Trying to beat me up again?" he growled. "We're not children anymore, Hognose, contrary to what you might think,"

"Release me, Useless!" Hognose shouted. To his surprise, Hiccup did so.

"Wots the matter? Too scared ta fight back?"

"It's not worth the effort," He lowered his voice so nobody else could hear him. "You know, all I can really feel for you guys is contempt and pity."

"Pity!" Hognose shouted. So much for nobody else hearing him.

"Yes, pity. You may not know it, but both of you are people the entire village hates and would love to be rid of. That's a hard and lonely life, and I feel sorry for you two, because the people who are suffering the most from your efforts to be unpleasant are you."

Mildew and Hognose looked at each other, snorted, and walked out.

Hiccup sighed. "Well, I had to try." He turned around to face the crowd, and saw most of them looked rather impressed. But before anything else could be said, all of a sudden shouts and screams were heard coming from outside.

"What's going on?"

"Did someone shout 'dragon'?"

"Has the war begun early?"

Mildew came running back inside screaming "DRAGON ATTACK!"

"EVERYBODY STAY CALM!" Hiccup shouted before anyone could react. "It's not what you think!" and he rushed through the doors and into the pouring rain. A small flock of dragons had landed in the plaza. Toothless was already standing next to them and chatting with them, while the townsfolk of Berk were trying to stay dry and not start a fight, remembering the Chief's new orders. No fighting any dragons save in self defense—and no antagonizing the dragons to create a reason for self defense.

" **So you made it**!" Hiccup laughed as he approached the dragons, " **lovely day for a flight, huh**?"

" **My amazing body won't light up**!" Hookfang wailed.

" **Where's Evictus**?"

" **He decided to stick with Grimm for the time being**." The Snow Demon Midnight replied.

" **Pity, because we could use a Timberjack right now**." Hiccup put his hands on his hips and looked over the dragons affectionately. " **No problems, I hope**?"

" **None in the Earth**." said Persephone. Further discussion was interrupted by the arrival of certain persons.

To say that the dragons were happy to see their human friends again would be an understatement. To say that Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins were happy to see their dragon friends again would be an understatement. Meatlug just about barreled Fishlegs over into the mud and began licking him, to both the disgust and amusement of him and the crowd. Barf n' Belch snaked over to Ruffnut and Tuffnut and bonked them on the head, apparently a sign of affection to the minds the masochistic and destructive pair. Hookfang was so excited he, despite his previous statement, unintentionally managed to set himself on fire after Snotlout had sat down on his back. Snotlout bolted straight for a water barrel and flung his rear into it, prompting the barrel's owner to complain that the water was ruined now. Astrid and Stormfly were more dignified in their reunion. Doubtless Astrid would have hugged the dragon around the neck excitedly, but others were watching and she would not permit herself to look as undignified as Fishlegs or Snotlout. So Stormfly simply nuzzled her in the stomach and she stroked the scales on the dragon's head.

For the rest of the Berkians, it was an unbelievable sight to see dragons and Vikings greeting each other like old friends. All of them had heard the stories during the past weeks, of course, yet many had always taken them with a grain of salt. And yet here they were. Dragons were in the center of the village and were not attacking anyone (except perhaps Snotlout, but even that was more amusing than dangerous). It was a sight nobody had ever conceived of.

Even Hiccup, the one who had made it happen, had often doubted he would ever see it. He was very relieved that it had. He also felt a strong rush of relief when he saw most of the Vikings were more surprised and curious about what they were seeing than opposed to it. He was even more pleased to see the dragons being introduced to the families of their riders. This did not include Hookfang. Spitelout had stormed away a while earlier with a scowl on his face. Snotlout was trying not to look upset about it, but Hiccup recognized the expression he wore. It was a disappointed one that came when you wanted to show someone something you found special and said person did not pay any attention to it. He had worn it himself many times while living on Berk.

After a while of watching Hiccup noticed Stoick had approached him.

"So!" Stoick said wistfully, "Dragons are on Berk now."

"I thought of asking Thornado to come along too, so you could ride him, but I wasn't sure if you would approve. I thought it would look bad to start on a note like that."

Stoick shrugged, as if to say that it was no matter. He really was more interested in Hiccup being on Berk again than having a dragon to ride. "So what happens now?"

"Now we'll need to get the dragons a place to stay,"

"Son, the plan is to have people riding them when we go into battle, yes?"

Hiccup sighed, "I've thought about it,"

"And in two days the Owl Guts and Bog Burglars will be arriving. It would be good for the sake of harmony and diplomacy if they had some riders too."

"I've thought of that too. But you do know we'll have virtually no time to train anyone."

"Some is better than none. Hey, where are you going?"

"To the forge. We've gotta get weapons and gear ready and frankly…I want to get dry!"

Stoick went after him. "What's this I've just hear about Hognose?"

"He doesn't like me or dragons. What of it?"

"I heard he tried to fight you and you refused to fight back. On the one hand, that was noble of you, but on the other hand, people might not respect you for that."

"I think they will, Stoick. And you misunderstand something. I'm not finished with Hognose yet, but—" his face broke into an evil grin "fighting is not the only option,"

"Oooh, I see." Stoick grinned, "That reminds me. I never did punish Mildew for taking part in that bribery business. What would you suggest?"

"Well we can't banish him for it. I'm sure everyone else would bless us, but he'd probably go straight to the Berserkers and tell them everything he knows. He might do that anyway, now that I think of it—"

"I'll set a watch," Stoick promised, "Mildew will not leave this island,"

"And I'll set a watch too. But since we can't banish him and the crime doesn't warrant death…how about you make him clean my old room?"

Stoick grinned again and ruffled Hiccup's wet hair before he returned to his Chief duties. Toothless came over to Hiccup.

" **He seems pretty happy to have you back, you know** ,"

" **I've noticed** ," Hiccup replied as he put his hair back the way he liked it.

" **Is he off the hook yet**?"

" **We haven't even been here a day, Bud** ,"

" **Look, I know he tried to kill you, and I for one am still furious with him for it, but you know something? You tried to kill me twice, remember? And look at us now,"**

Hiccup said nothing.

Mead Hall was packed that night. The curiosity of seeing Hiccup up close safely and the prospect of a large free meal made showing up a foregone conclusion for everyone.

Hiccup, against his will, was made to stand with his father at the front of the hall, where he could be seen by everybody, which made him feel very self conscious. He wished he had his mask on now. It made him feel a bit more secure when facing a large group, instead of feeling like a caged animal, which was how he felt now.

Stoick gave a loud speech about how by running away his son had ironically become the very son he'd wanted: strong, a fighter, and a leader. It earned a lot of praise and good laughter from the crowd but left Hiccup feeling uncomfortable. It was one thing to take the spotlight himself and use it to get his point across, as he had that afternoon, but to be put in the spotlight and have no control over it made him uneasy and remember the years before he left. He clearly recalled the night he'd shot down Toothless when his father had, hardly for the first time, carried him through the village and shouted at him in front of everybody. In the speech his father was giving now he was aware Stoick was not intentionally trying to make him uncomfortable, indeed he was probably oblivious to the fact that he was, but that did not make him feel any better.

He was greatly relieved when Stoick stopped and hoped that they would get something to eat soon. He was getting hungry. It was only then that he realized that he was expected to say something now. 'Sheesh, they might have told me they wanted me to make a speech!' he thought in annoyance. He did not want to be there. He would have much preferred going for a flight on Toothless or spending some time with Astrid.

"Hiccup," Stoick said loudly, making his son jump. "Would you like to say a few words?" Hiccup tried to mouth to him 'no' but Stoick either did not understand or declined to let him off the hook. So Hiccup reluctantly stood up and joined his father. All eyes were on him. Nobody knew what he was going to say. Everyone was eagerly waiting to hear what he had to say. The anticipation built the longer he remained silent.

"Well, honestly, I'm more talkative when I have a full stomach. How about we get something to eat?"

The immediate reaction was supportive and appreciative.

"I was kidding, actually, everyone! All right, then…" uncertain of how to start, he looked down at the floor, balanced on his prosthetic and swung his other leg a little.

Well I see you got Mead Hall fixed up—just so we're clear, I had nothing to do with that!" Nobody really laughed, "all right look, I imagine everybody here knows how it's been in the past. You haven't liked me much, I haven't liked you much, and it's nearly gotten a lot of us killed more than once…but that can be all in the past if we allow it. Your Chief, Stoick the Vast, has asked me to give Berk one last chance for a happy life." He stopped balancing on one leg and looked up. "I am willing to do so if you are.

"But, as you all know by now, I come with a price, as does anything on this earth. Peace comes with a price, as does the homes we build or the crops we harvest. And my price is dragons. The creatures Vikings have fought with for over three centuries. Neither side has been blameless; we all know it and I see no need to go into it further. But like me, there are many dragons I know who are sick to death of all this needless fighting and hatred and just want to have a place they can call home and live amongst those they care about! And I think, deep down in each one of you, you all want the same thing too—"

"Ah don't!" Mildew shouted, only to have Stoick tell him to be quiet.

"Well, most of you, anyway. There are always exceptions—I would know. But why do you cling to the ways our ancestors lived by instead of pressing forward when the chance was offered? One reason is simply we fear change—and rightly so, for we all like the comfort of familiarity and get worried when we don't know what's going to happen. But change has to happen. It happens whether we will or not and there comes a point where we've got to go with it or be lost forever. Another reason is that bringing in dragons disgraces our ancestors and our traditions—well first of all, I would respectfully ask our ancestors to make known their displeasure if this does indeed offend them. As for going against traditions with something new—our traditions were once new, were they not? In every tradition, someone had to be the first to implement it. So why can't we now begin a new tradition of peace with dragons? Are we less worthy than our ancestors that we cannot make up our own minds about this? To live for the past is a good thing to do, yes, but the past is done. It's what's to come that matters more, I think. Maybe we owe our ancestors a lot, but don't we own our descendents something more than the life we were born into? A life of fearing every dragon raid, fearing starvation, forever building new homes, watching our loved ones being burned or carried away?" He glanced at Stoick as he said this.

"And that brings me to the final reason for why some of us are opposed to dragons, which is they'd rather avenge their loved ones. But I've said it before: it won't bring them back. And look at my example if you want to see what the lust for revenge does to people and ask yourselves: _has_ it been worth it?"

He looked around the hall. "I know it won't be easy to integrate dragons on Berk, but I believe that, given some time and effort, it can happen and I believe that Berk will be better off for it. I guess what I really mean to say is this: there is a madman and a monster out there, and he is going to come for us no matter what we do now. Sticks tied up in a bundle are stronger than they are when separated. Please, everyone, let me show you that dragons and humans can be friends and allies in the fight that's coming and in the peace that follows it, and together we can forge Berk into a greater place than it has ever been before. My…father has asked me to give Berk one last chance and I have agreed. I now would ask Berk to give _me_ one last chance." He looked around again for reactions.

There was silence at first. Then Astrid jumped up from her seat and shouted "Aye!" A loud chorus of 'ayes' followed her. Hiccup looked as though he was breathing for the first time since he had started speaking.

"Well, that's…very encouraging. But you know, I'm still a lot more talkative when I've got a full stomach. How about something to eat?"

The immediate reaction was supportive, appreciative and humorous.

Unfortunately, he did not get a full stomach. It seemed everybody wanted to talk to him now, so much so that he could barely get a single bite. Astrid sat next to him, but he knew any chance of a private conversation with her had to be put hold. For her part she made no mention of that afternoon. Fishlegs squeezed himself into the seat on his other side and began pelting Hiccup with questions about Gronkles and Meatlug. What was her favorite food, how much sleep did she usually get, how large would her saddle have to be, was her shot limit 6 like others, should he ever try to give her a bath, what was the fastest speed she'd ever reached, and so on and so forth. Hiccup tried to answer what he could over the loud noise of other questions being asked. Now everybody wanted to know everything about him and the places he'd been. A number of girls were also trying to sit nearby, giggling and blushing every time he looked over at them and even when he did not.

For Astrid the noise level got so annoying that she eventually went to sit with her parents, where it was a bit quieter. Hiccup watched her go and made eye contact with Olaf Hofferson. He responded by giving Hiccup a very icy glare. Hiccup quickly turned his attention back to his own table.

The dragons were also besieged by the curious townsfolk, especially the youngsters. They wanted to climb on them, sit on their backs, play with their tails, pet them, and play with them, among other things. Unlike the King, however, the dragons was enjoying the attention, especially Toothless, Hookfang, and Stormfly, though Toothless had to keep an eye on them to make sure no one reacted whenever a human used the word 'pet'. This especially applied to him, for a lot of kids were begging their parents for a pet Night Fury of their own.

" **I thought I told you to make it clear I am nobody's pet**!" He growled at Hiccup, but Hiccup could not hear him as a slightly inebriated Gobber was shouting in his ear.

"And then I says to 'im: 'I betcha can't do that widout the iron!'" Gobber laughed loudly, "Ha ha, oh man, that's a pretty good joke, huh?"

"Sure Gobber," Actually Hiccup had not heard a thing except for the punch line, and what he had heard made no sense at all to him. He abruptly excused himself and fought his way over to get some seconds, even though he already had a full plate. In doing so he nearly walked into Spitelout, who gave him a fierce scowl and stormed over to his table.

Spitelout sat with his back towards everyone else and moodily crammed bread into his mouth. He was so disgusted he didn't even want to be there. His family had gone over to the enemy, his son had once and for all given up on his chance to become Chief, and even worse, the man with the strongest claim to the Chiefdom had returned and had the strength now to support his claim. As he swallowed he saw Snotlout carefully sit down next to him. "Dad? We need to talk."

"Go away."

"Oh come on, do you think I really meant it when I said I was on Hiccup's side?"

Spitelout paused. "Wot?"

"It's all an act, Dad!" Snotlout lowered his voice, "Look, it's obvious that Uncle Stoick is going to hand the reigns over to Hiccup, right? And with Hiccup in power that means dragons are coming to Berk, right? So if I side with Hiccup and become one of the first dragon riders on Berk it puts me in a very powerful position, right? I make myself Hiccup's second in command and then, when a tragic accident occurs to Hiccup, which easily could happen given how much he loves flying, who better to follow him than his reformed, loyal and trusted right hand man Snotlout?"

Spitelout thought it over. "That's pretty clever, actu'ly."

"It's a part of politics, dad. Go with the crowd in power and tell them what they want to hear." Snotlout said smugly. "And you know riding a Monstrous Nightmare is a pretty prestigious thing."

"Hmm."

"Dad, out of curiosity, what is it you've got against dragons so much? I get why Uncle Stoick hated them so much, but Mom wasn't killed by one, so what have you got against them?"

Spitelout shrugged. "I've always disliked 'em. They've done Berk a lotta harm in the past."

"But Hiccup says they were forced to!"

"Does that make 'em less guilty fer doing it? Why didn't they stand up fer themselves? 'Sides, I was raised ta kill 'em, not befriend 'em. Ah liked fightin' 'em. An' I don't like bein' told all I grew up wid was fer nothin'!"

"But Dad, think of what Berk could accomplish using dragons! Drago is trying to raise an army of them; wouldn't it be sensible to have our own army to counter him? Besides, Dad, look around you. Everyone else is starting to adjust and if we keep going against it we'll be the outsiders soon. It would be more helpful to my chances of becoming Chief if you at least pretended to accept dragons."

Spitelout considered this. "I guess fer the moment…but when yer Chief, we lose them dragons, alright?"

Snotlout nodded.

"That's better, son! Ya know, now that I know what's up, why don't ya move back in tonight?"

"You mean it?"

"Course! We need ta make some plans!" He clapped his son on the back and led him outside. Hiccup and Fishlegs watched them leave.

"Looks like he bought it." Hiccup remarked.

"How long do you think he'll be able to keep up the charade?"

"I don't know. I don't even know how long it'll have to be kept up."

"He won't like it if he finds out he's been deceived by his own son."

"Snotlout knows that. He knows what he's doing." So Hiccup hoped. "Why does everyone in my family seem to have problems with their relations?"

"I don't like it, Hiccup. I mean, I'm glad they're speaking again, but this could easily backfire and blow up on all of us."

"I know. But have some faith, Fish. Less than two months ago my father tried to trap me, disown me, and kill me. Now…" he spread his arms out and left the sentence unfinished. "We just have to hope that Spitelout will go through a similar conversion."

"Yes we will. He already seems a bit different. I mean, he used to be so crafty and always calculating how to make Snotlout chief, but ever since the kidnapping he's seemed kinda lost…"

"Fishlegs, being captured and faced with an uncertain and probably painful future does things to people." His arm began to twitch again. "Maybe he suffered a bit more in those cells than he's let on,"

"Maybe. Say, it suddenly occurs to me: where's Hognose? I don't see him anywhere."

"He's in Gothi's hut covered in bandages last I heard."

"What? What happened?"

"Well it's _just_ possible that he found a carelessly dropped note saying in a moderately easy to crack code that there was some incriminating evidence that could get the Dragon King banished from Berk that was buried under a rock in the middle of what turned out to be a field of poison ivy—maybe?" Hiccup spoke with a completely straight face.

"You didn't!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Fishlegs grinned. "Of course not. But surely Hognose would know better than to go into a field of poison ivy?"

"You'd be surprised at how many people can't identify most plants without making an effort. And like Dagur and Alvin, he was given a piece of information he felt he could not afford to ignore. But I don't know that, of course."

"Of course, Hiccup. Say, do you mind if we call you 'Hiccup' now?"

He had been wondering when someone would ask that. The truth was he still did not like his name much. It was Hiccup, meaning a mistake, Horrendous, which was synonymous with terrible, and Haddock, which was a species of fish. Essentially his name meant a mistaken and terrible fish. Very flattering indeed, and it was rather disturbing that he was the third man to have such a name. But he sensed it would be hopeless to convince people to stop using it now, especially as he had never chosen another one. So he said with an air of resignation "Go ahead."

" **Can I call you it now too**?"

" **No, Bud**. So Fishlegs, why did you of all people take Snotlout in?"

"I was really impressed with how he stood up to Spitelout. I also thought, seeing as how we're all trying to make amends with you, maybe I should try to be a better friend to Snotlout too. He'll need to meet me halfway, of course, but he needed some support and I decided to give him some."

Their attention was then diverted as Ruffnut and Tuffnut came into the hall. From the way they walked, with their heads up high and an air of great importance about them, one might have suspected they were carrying the crown and staff at a king's coronation. Ruffnut carried a sack under her arm. Tuffnut was holding what looked like the most appalling piece of raw dough ever made.

"Hiccup!" Ruffnut announced, "In honor of your return, we are here to make you our famous pepper cake!" A loud moan of disgust went up but she ignored it. "You'll have to wait a few minutes, however. Tuffnut has to put the cake in the kitchen's oven and bake it first. This way it'll be nice and hot—and I'm not talking about just the dough!"

Astrid approached them. "What's in the bag?"

"The last of that exploding powder we used on the Berserkers. We're going to end tonight's celebration with a few of those fireworks! Hiccup, we'll need the metal stuff, so if you could kindly—"

Hiccup took the bag from her and tasted the contents. He paled. "Um, Ruffnut, this isn't powder. It's pepper!"

"Pepper? Are you sure?" She sniffed it and sneezed. "Yep, you're sure. But wait—if that's pepper than what happened to the…"

Everybody froze, and then in one accord their heads turned towards the kitchen.

"Oh dear…"

Everyone instinctively dove for cover beneath the tables, and not an instant soon. A split second later a loud explosion in the kitchen sent Tuffnut flying towards them and blew the kitchen doors of their hinges.

"Oh, I am hurt! I am very much hurt!" Tuffnut cried as he smashed into a table. "And yet…that was…amazing…" he fell unconscious with a big lopsided grin on his blackened face.

For a moment everyone was too scared to know how to react and worried how Stoick would react. Then Hiccup burst into the loudest and longest laugh anyone on Berk had ever seen. It was so hearty that he was reduced to a heap on the floor and tears flowed freely down his cheeks. Ruffnut joined in, so did Astrid, and before long nobody could stand up because their sides hurt too much. And while the doors would have to be rebuilt later on, at least nobody won't have to eat the Twins pepper cake. That in itself was grounds for rejoicing.

 **Stay tuned for more on Saturday the 15** **th**


	24. Chapter 24

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Note: Any spelling errors that occur whenever Mildew or Spitelout are speaking are intentional**

 **Chapter 24**

 **Astrid**

"So, Milady, what can I do for you today?" It was morning. They were in the forge. Hiccup was putting the finishing touches on a section of Astrid's new riding equipment. Even in the forge they could hear Mildew screaming about the filthiness of the room he was cleaning.

"I wanted to talk to you about Stormfly's children. Where are they?"

"The other Nadders at the Sanctuary are looking after them."

"I don't like that. It's not right for a mother to abandon her children," she put her hands on her hips, "and honestly, I'm a bit surprised that you, of all people, would let such a thing happen."

"Can you help care for four infant Nadders, Astrid?"

"I believe I can."

"Alright, I'll talk to Stormfly about it. But it was her decision to leave them behind, not mine. She felt that for the sake of our cause, and for their safety, she had to do it at least temporarily."

"I don't care. She's a mother and a mother looks after her children. It's part of a parent's duty."

"I'm glad Toothless isn't here to hear that." Hiccup remarked. "I think Night Furies abandon their eggs after laying them—it's common with a lot of reptiles. At any rate that's what happened to Toothless. He never knew his parents and if he ever found a female to mate with I think it likely that instinct would have him leave and never know his children."

"That's harsh." Astrid said.

"Yes it is, but since we've never seen another Night Fury, it's probably a moot point. You know, I was always hoping while we were traveling I'd find a female for him somewhere. Nothing. Even in China nobody had ever seen or heard of his species."

"Did he ever hope he'd find you a female somewhere?" Astrid asked, hoping she sounded disinterested.

Hiccup laughed. "Oh he'd suggest it and tease me about it often, but he never pressed the issue too much. Being a dragon he sometimes doesn't understand relationships as humans do—or sometimes he pretends he doesn't. The idea of arranged marriages, for instance, just appalled him, as does the idea of, as he'd put it, mating simply for the fun of it." He went back to work and was silent for a while. To keep his sleeve out of the way he rolled it up, exposing an ugly scar on his arm. To start a new conversation, Astrid asked him what had made it.

"Changewing Acid. I was using it to etch a design into a wall. A Terror burst in and startled me. I spilled a bit."

"Ouch."

"No kidding. Changewing acid can eat through just about any kind of metal except Gronkle Iron, and as for human flesh, well, I was lucky it was only a small amount. I still couldn't use the arm for a day." He stepped back and admired his work. "Well, that should do it. Shall we test it out?"

"What is all that stuff, anyway?"

"It'll help you ride Stormfly. Saddles, straps, safety equipment, you get the picture. I'll need to make some adjustments, of course, such as the…" as they walked over to the Arena he spoke a lot of technical words that Astrid did not understand in the slightest.

The dragons had spent the night in the Arena. It had taken some pleading from Hiccup to get them to do so. They were very displeased to be in a place where so many of their kind had been killed and only agreed to it after assurances that it was temporary, that the deaths would never happen again, the promise of lots of fish was made, and the fact was pointed out that there was nowhere else on the island that could shelter so many dragons.

"The others must be sleeping in," Astrid observed, as there were no other humans around, "Typical." Likewise, the seven dragons lying in the center of the arena (they had refused point blank to sleep in the dragon pens) were also fast asleep.

"They look so peaceful," Astrid whispered to him.

"Then watch this!" Hiccup grinned. He carefully crept over to Hookfang, leaned over his ear and whispered " **eeeelllllssss** "

Hookfang fidgeted and kicked his legs in his sleep. " **Eeeelllllsssss…mmf…eels…hmm, hmm, yesssss…lovely….EELS**!" He instantly leapt up screaming and set his body on fire in a panic. His screams caused the other dragons to jump up with equal panic and collide with each other!

" **AUGH**!"

" **EELS**!"

" **WHERE**?"

" **I DIDN'T DO IT**!"

" **WHAT**?"

" **HELP**!"

Hiccup fell over laughing. Once the dragons realized what had happened they roared and charged at him, pinning him to the ground and kicking him. For a horrible moment Astrid instinctively thought they were attacking him but she then saw they were wrestling with him for the fun of it and she saw he was still laughing.

" **No fair! This is seven to one and you guys are all at least three times stronger than me**!" he shouted as Meatlug sat on him so Midnight could mess up his hair.

" **Surrender**!" Hookfang ordered.

Toothless came bursting onto the scene. " **Hey, what are you doing to my human here? Nobody beats up my human but me!** " And he give Hiccup a lick before whomping him with his tail.

Astrid watched in amusement. She could not help but notice how happy Hiccup looked. At the dinner last night he had, for the most part, looked uncomfortable. Even when he was with other humans she felt he had been a bit reserved. She might have just imagined it of course, or maybe she saw only what she expected to see. But aside from the pepper cake incident last night she had only seen him so happy and relaxed when he was around dragons. Then again, she sadly acknowledged, how many times had she seen him happy to begin with?

At last Hiccup was allowed to stand up.

" **And that joke was not funny**!" Hookfang shouted at him. " **So where's breakfast**?"

Hiccup assured him the fish barrels would be arriving in a few minutes. He then went to work putting the riding gear on Stormfly, making adjustments, and showing Astrid how to do it.

"You know, you could have helped me out when those salamanders were squashing me,"

She grinned, "Oh of course I could have, but I figured you should be punished for keeping a secret harem!"

"Oh don't tell me you believed that bunch of nonsense! I do _not_ keep a harem!"

"Of course not. I might not know you as well as these dragons, but you don't strike me as that kind of guy."

"Oh is that so? And what kind of guy _do_ I strike you as? A permanent bachelor, perhaps?"

"From what I heard last night, if I were you I'd watch out or you won't stay that way for very long."

"Oh?"

"Yep. I heard a lot of girls giggling over your looks last night. Evidently living with dragons and having some scars is irresistible to girls like Ruffnut. And don't forget, the Bog Burglars are arriving tomorrow: a tribe that's almost entirely made up of women. I hear Camicazi is particularly gorgeous. You'd better be careful or she might kidnap you!"

Hiccup groaned. "Great. That's just what I need." He noticed the dragons laughing at him and wondered if he'd ever hear the end of it.

It was astonishing how quickly the weather on Berk changed. For hour after hour yesterday it had been dreary and wet, then clear, then dreary and wet again, turning the paths into quagmire. Had a dragon raid come yesterday the dragons would have found the houses impossible to burn! But today was the complete opposite. That short period of clear blue skies yesterday was increased a hundredfold today. Today the only things that were wet were the ocean and their legs when they flew in too close to it.

Astrid imagined flying would never get old. Already she felt skilled enough to try out some tricks with Stormfly. They did some loop-de-loops, spins, and she even started giving the Nadder commands. As fun as it was, she found the views even more amazing.

Hiccup, having the faster dragon, occasionally flew laps around them, as if daring her to try and catch him, a challenge Astrid always readily accepted.

"You just wait!" Astrid yelled after him. She could see him laughing as he let her catch up. "Just wait until we get really good at this! We'll have dragon races all around these islands!"

"Oh racing is fun and all that, but it's nothing compared to this!" He quickly pulled a leaver on Toothless's tail contraption and threw himself off the dragon. Astrid gaped in horror. Then she saw him gliding below them, his flight suit wings extended. He had a huge grin on his face that Astrid could not help but find adorable.

" **Yeah, can your human do that**?" Toothless asked smugly as he dove down to reunite with his rider. Once Hiccup was back on Toothless they flew up to rejoin Astrid.

"Whew! You don't know what it really means to have a pounding heart until you've tried that!" Hiccup laughed.

"You're going to get yourself killed one of these days!" she scolded him.

" **Tell me about it**."

"Well, at least I'll die happy!" He took a deep breath. "This is freedom, Astrid! I feel like I've left my problems behind on the ground, like there's nothing to stop me from doing anything I want, or going anywhere I choose. It's just us, our dragons, and the horizon! Part of me wants to just fly west forever and see what we come across!"

"It sounds wonderful Hiccup, but what about home? We've got duties here and need I remind you we're at war?"

"Astrid, just for once, can you forget about duties and responsibilities? In a few days at most we're going off to battle, and, much as I hate to say it, some of us won't be coming back. I know I for one would rather remember today as one last day of happiness before the crisis." Indeed, on such a lovely day as this, it was hard to believe there was anything wrong with the world.

Astrid had no idea of where they were or how far they were from Berk when they came to a small green island. Hiccup announced that they would stop there for lunch before heading back. The very first thing he did when they landed was flop off of Toothless into a bush and stare at the sky.

"If people could only have days like this and be satisfied with it, the world would be a better place," he said wistfully.

"Well, sadly, some people can't." Astrid replied as she dismounted, "Sometimes we've got to get our hands dirty because if we just sit around cloud gazing nothing would get accomplished."

"True. So, milady, what would you like for lunch?" He went to reach for his bag, but Astrid got there first and unceremoniously dumped the contents onto the ground. Wrapped up in cloth were some fish, bread and cheese, raw pea pods, and bananas in addition to a canteen of apple cider. Astrid looked up at him curiously.

"Isn't this what we had for dinner that night at the Sanctuary?"

"Um…well, yes. I'm sorry if it sounds awkward or something, but I kinda wanted to try a repeat of that dinner under better circumstances."

" **I told him it was a stupid idea**!" Toothless told Stormfly.

Astrid just shrugged dismissively at Hiccup's attempted symbolism. He could see it however he wanted to, but food was food and she was hungry.

"So, Hiccup, could I ask you something?" she asked as she took a bite of bread. "Who's the next Chief now?"

Out of all the things she could have asked about this was what Hiccup had wanted to avoid the most.

"Can't we discuss this later? It's not like it has to be decided today, right?"

"I'd still like to know."

"All right then. You are. The Chiefdom is yours by rights, you've earned it. I didn't come to Berk to take it away from you."

"I'm—conflicted about this. I want to be the Chief of course; I've worked hard for years for it but…no, no Hiccup, the Chiefdom is rightfully yours. It would be dishonorable for me to take it from you."

He shook his head. "Astrid, I've done nothing for it except be born. You're the better choice and that's that. Besides, I don't want it."

"Hiccup, we can't turn from responsibilities just like that! We owe it to Berk!"

"Maybe you do, but I'm not so sure about me." He fought to keep his voice steady. "I've never wanted that position, Astrid. _Nobody_ has ever wanted me to have it until now! Why should I give up everything I've got elsewhere because, once again, people won't listen to me?"

"Then why'd you come back?" Astrid nearly yelled, "If you think so badly of us why'd you return? You must have known Stoick would want to name you Chief if you came, and he already has. He mentioned it at the meeting yesterday."

Hiccup groaned. "Already? He couldn't even ask me about it first before announcing it?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "He said his mind was firmly made up. My father came within an inch of blowing up at him—and you."

"So that's why he glared at me last night. See what I mean? Making me the Chief will just cause more problems! I don't want it and you do, so why are we having a discussion about it?"

"Because the Chief doesn't agree with us." She eyed him thoughtfully. "You really don't want to be Chief. Why not? I mean, you're already Chief of a tribe of dragons—and don't start telling me that stuff about how you only lead because they let you! I think you just don't want to lead Berk because of all the bad memories, which is understandable, but as you've said, it's past history."

"So I should just abandon the Sanctuary? Isn't that avoiding responsibility of another kind?" He looked at her wearily. "I get the feeling we're going to go in circles with this argument."

"Well what can we do about it?" Astrid asked in exasperation. "Just pretend for the time being that we agree with Stoick and then make me Chief once he's dead? That's just sick and dishonorable and I won't do it!"

Hiccup looked at Toothless. " **Why is it every time I want to have a nice pleasant talk with her something comes up that sets us bickering**?"

" **There is one option, you know, that would make both of you Chiefs of Berk**!" Toothless said brightly.

" **Not helping, Bud**!" He turned back to Astrid. "All right Astrid, look: we go to war in a few days. Can't we settle this question when it's over?"

"You're stalling, Hiccup. We oughta settle this now."

"How? By single combat?"

"No, you'd just let me win." She looked frustrated but determined to convince him. "Hiccup, think of the honor you'd receive! You'd have gone from the Village screw up to the most powerful man on the island! Your word would be law! Think of what you could accomplish in such a position! Why, you could go down in history as one of the greatest and most influential leaders ever! It's all yours; all you have to do is take it!"

"Yes I could and take it away from _you_! Everything you're saying can apply to you! Think of what _you_ could accomplish in such a position! Think of the honor _you'd_ receive! How can I take that from you when you've been working for it for nearly 8 years and I haven't done a thing?"

"'Haven't done a thing?' You only befriended a Night Fury, killed a mountain sized monster, founded a tribe of Dragons, and destroyed an entire armada of Berserker ships."

"I didn't really do that part."

"You still planned it. And even so, you've been in charge of a tribe lot longer than I have!"

"So let me look after that tribe and I'll let you look after yours."

"You're right; this is just going in circles."

" **There is another option** ," Toothless repeated in annoyance.

"What's he saying?"

"He suggested another option. He's suggesting we…co-rule."

" **What**?" Toothless exclaimed.

"You know, the Emperor Diocletian decided Rome was too much for one man to rule, so he appointed several co-rulers to rule with him. Granted Berk is a lot smaller than the Roman Empire, but couldn't we run Berk together? I mean, of course we'd have to establish guidelines of who would take care of what and all that, but…well, think about it, ok? Because it's the only way I can think of that would satisfy everybody."

"T **he option that I actually meant would satisfy everybody too, I imagine**!"

Something in his words made Astrid's temper flare up. "Or do you want to please my family by keeping me as a figurehead while you secretly run everything?"

"Whatever gave you _that_ idea?"

"Snotlout, among other people, who all seem convinced that as a woman I'm incapable of managing an island myself!"

" **Don't you dare compare my rider to that Snot-faced bully**!" Toothless growled.

" **Don't you turn on my rider like that**!" Stormfly snapped back at him.

Toothless was impressed. " **You're already taking her side**?" Hiccup raised a hand for silence.

"Astrid, I promise you I would never do that."

"You'd treat me as an equal?"

"Or a superior in some matters since you know Berk better than I do. I'd expect you to treat me as a superior in matters concerning dragons at first, but in time you'd know enough to be able to handle them yourself." He knew deep down this division of authority would lead to more trouble but he did not say so in case it did not appeal to her.

"Is that the truth or are you just saying this to please me?"

Hiccup raised his eyebrows. "There would be only one way to find out, wouldn't there?" He walked away and sat down on the edge of the cliff. Astrid uncertainly went over to him.

"Hiccup, why must we fight over this?"

"I've been fighting over it with myself ever since I first understood I was next in line," he mumbled. "It's just…I don't _want_ to control this place. I never did. And especially now that I've seen some of the world, the idea of being stuck on this island with all the bad memories and people who still probably see me as a traitor, it doesn't appeal to me one bit, whereas you—"

"Whereas I feel just as disgusted as you by all that's happened," she replied, "If I had been Chief I promise you I would never have set that trap."

"Thank you. But unlike me, you've always know who you are."

Astrid carefully put her arm on his shoulder. "Not true, actually. When I found out who you were and started to agree with you about dragons I was horribly confused for a while. I knew that to side with dragons at the time could seriously hurt my chances of becoming chief, yet after that first flight I wanted more experiences like that. I wanted more of something that everybody else said I couldn't have. Nobody knew about it, but there was a war raging in my head."

"What did you decide on?"

"I got lucky this time. You got Stoick to change his mind, so siding with dragons was suddenly no longer heresy. Nobody really forced me to choose this time around. And that scares me, Hiccup. Yes, I can be scared too. I'm scared that one day I might come upon a situation where what I want to do won't agree with what honor dictates and it will be for something serious."

"For example?"

"For example, suppose I have Drago Bludvist at my mercy. Suppose we fought and I won and I had him lying disarmed and bloody at my feet. Honor would say I should not kill a fallen enemy, yes? But what harm would he do if I allowed him to live?" She eyed him. "What would you do, Hiccup?"

"That's another thing I've wondered about for a long time now and I don't know. I've always hoped if I just talked to him, maybe I could say the right words that could get him to change and abandon his schemes, but it's never happened. Not that I've had many conversations with him," He said. "Or maybe if I could defeat him soundly enough he'd just give up. I really thought he would after the last time. Of course, none of this gets us any closer to working things out. I think I was born with a talent for complicating things. Or maybe the Gods just hate me."

Astrid chuckled. "It's never easy, is it? But that's what happens to people like us, Hiccup. That's what happens to people in authority during times of change."

"And what do we do about it?" He looked out to the horizon.

They were silent for a while as they thought. At last she turned his head so he was making eye contact with her. "The answers aren't out in the wild, Hiccup. If you flew to every corner of the earth, you'd never find what you're looking for. The answer you're looking for is in here," she put a hand against his chest, "and in here," now against his head, "only you just haven't found it yet. Do you know how I know this? Because my father told me the same thing when I was figuring out who I was, just like his father told him when he was figuring out who he was."

Hiccup smiled slightly. He did not really doubt that he could run Berk if he wanted to, the question for him was did he really want to? Astrid and Toothless could give him all the advice and encouragement they wanted but it did not change the fact that it was a question only he could answer. But he now found it was very hard to consider an answer when there was a beautiful woman standing so close to him and looking into his eyes. For her part, having made her statement, Astrid was realizing that she was looking into the lovely eyes of a handsome man and her heart began racing.

Hiccup swallowed. Astrid swallowed. Toothless and Stormfly were nodding enthusiastically. In doing so the movement was enough to catch the attention of their humans and the spell was broken.

"We should be getting back," Hiccup said in a dry voice.

"Yeah…duties and responsibilities and all that..."

"Yeah, yeah…"

" **Are you KIDDING me**?" Toothless roared. " **You're brave enough to take blows for her and risk death for her but you're afraid to let her know it?"**

Astrid just packed up her gear and prepared to climb onto Stormfly. But Hiccup suddenly pulled on her arm.

"What?"

"I just wanted to say thanks for listening to me. Not just here, but about dragons too. I—you were the first person here whose mind I managed to change, and if I hadn't I wouldn't be here now, so I just wanted to say…well, thanks. And I know I'm making this Chiefdom question a bigger mess than it already has been and I'm sorry about that but—I think with your help we will get it sorted out."

" **That's better** ," Toothless nodded approvingly.

"And Astrid, if I do become Chief…well, I'd feel a lot better about it if I knew I had your support and guidance." He looked at her and Toothless imploringly. "You said what I'm looking for is inside me, and I just haven't found it yet. Then please, _help_ me to find it somehow."

Astrid raised her eyebrows. Then she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

Hiccup was so surprised he could have been knocked over with a feather. Astrid just blushed, climbed onto Stormfly, and flew away.

Toothless looked at with a sly smile. Hiccup did not notice. Instead he noticed his face felt very hot. He then noticed it was a very lovely afternoon. He also noticed that he must be coming down with something because he was feeling a bit light headed and dizzy. Too bad he did _not_ notice the rock in front of him until he tripped over it.

" **Nice going, lover boy**."

" **Oh shut up**!"

Back on Berk, Olaf Hofferson had been in a foul mood ever since the meeting with Stoick. He was not happy about Astrid being bumped down from her position so casually by Hiccup. While Olaf had been grateful to Hiccup for his help his gratitude did not extend this far. And now Hiccup and Astrid had vanished to Thor knows where and doing Freya knows what. Olaf never doubted Astrid could take care of herself and would watch over her honor and virtue, but as for Hiccup, Olaf had no idea. True, Hiccup had behaved himself when he had been with Astrid for that week at the Sanctuary, but he was still suspicious of the dragon man.

Mildew was outside taking a break from his cleaning. He had noticed Olaf's foul mood (it takes one to know one, as the saying goes) and approached Hofferson to have a little chat with him.

"Ah sym-pea-thighs with ya, Olaf. It ain't easy ta know yer daughter's bin cast aside fer a demon lover, an' ah totally sym-pea-thighs with ya."

"Oh really?" Olaf was not in the mood for sympathy from Mildew, of all people.

"Yes, really. So Ah got a notion in me old numbskull. 'Ow 'bout ya come over ta my place and we kin sort this out?"

"Sort what out, Mildew?" Olaf snapped.

"'Ow ta git rid of that demon lover and put yer daughter in charge!" Mildew said with a sly grin.

"Go away."

"Are ya tellin' me you'd rather 'ave a demon lovin' traiter fer a chief than yer own daughter?" Olaf turned away but Mildew grabbed his arm. "Don't tell me 'ees won you over too!"

"Mildew, nobody has won me over, least of all you! I am not going to get involved in some conspiracy against the Chief. And as I recall, you've always been saying a woman can't be Chief of Berk. How stupid do you think I am to believe you'd now help a woman become exactly that?" He walked away for real, his foul mood not placated. Mildew looked taken aback, but then he spotted Spitelout Jorgenson and went up to him.

"Ah sym-pea-thighs wid ya, Spitelout. It ain't easy ta know yer son's bin cast aside fer some demon lovin' traitor! Now ah 'ave got a notion in me old numbskull 'ere. Let's go to my place and talk this problem over!"

"And 'ow much will you want in return for yer services?" Spitelout said crossly.

"Me only reward would be ta see yer son as Chief! Ah have bin on 'is side ever since the beginnin'!"

"Yes and thanks to yer support he's now about as likely ta become Chief as you are! Sorry, Mildew, but the Jorgenson's don't need yer help anymore."

Mildew was astonished. "You too, Spitelout? You tellin' me the Fishbone Traitor 'as won you over too?"

"No, he has not. But you aren't gonna win me over either. Ah suggest ya go back to werk!" As he walked away Mildew sent a string of profanities and curses after him, so loudly people stopped and stared at him.

"I jest don't get what the Gods are up to here. My brother and ah both lose our wives when they're young, yet that old goat lives longer than both wives put together?" Spitelout grumbled to some of them, and for a change they nodded sympathetically.

"I wanna talk to you, son!"

It was the evening. Hiccup and Toothless had spent the afternoon trying to get the dragons situated and dealing with Vikings who were still uneasy about dragons being in such close proximity. Now they were in the forge going through a pile of weapons that needed sharpening. Gobber had gone to get some dinner. Hiccup had not wanted any visitors but when the visitor in question is the Chief and your father you don't get much say in the matter.

"Yes?"

"What's going on with you and Astrid?"

Hiccup had not seen Astrid since they returned but she had never been out of his thoughts. He replayed the moment she had kissed him over and over again in his head and was all the happier for it. He did not know where this was going (though he had an idea of where he _wanted_ it to go) but he had her reputation to think of, so he decided to downplay things.

"We went out flying. We stopped on an island for lunch and talked a bit, and then we came back. She's getting really good riding Stormfly already; just wait until you see the two of them in action."

"And what did you talk about?"

"The Chiefdom." He looked at his father coldly, "And while we're on the subject, is there something you want to tell me that I should know about?"

"Ah, yes…that."

"Yes that. Dad, I'd appreciate it if the next time you announce something important about me you, oh I don't know, let me know about it first!"

"Well, I just thought that since you were back and already clearly a leader and ready to be my successor, I thought I'd settle the question then for everyone else."

"Dad, this kind of thing is exactly one of the reasons we grew apart for so long. You can't just make assumptions about me on such a big matter as this!"

Stoick looked hurt. "Oh. Do you want me to retract it?"

Hiccup suddenly regretted speaking so harshly. "No, it's…we'll sort it out once and for all when this Drago business is finished, all right? In the meantime…for 'ceremonial' purposes I'll play the heir if you want." Astrid had persuaded him to agree to that on their return trip.

"Son, I don't get why you don't wanna be Chief! You're ready for it! I can tell! I saw how you were during the escape, I've seen how you've been with those dragons and if you can manage them you can manage Vikings!"

"No offense, but I haven't even been back on Berk for two full days."

Stoick slapped Hiccup on the back, sending him face first into the workbench. "Well, just wait, son! It's in battle that we discover who we truly are and what we can do! Don't worry, you'll come back with a much higher opinion of your ability to lead, I promise you! And then you'll have no problem with being Berk's Chief!" He walked out of the forge happy.

" **He barely even asked you about Astrid**!" Toothless remarked.

" **Well, he's the Chief. I imagine the succession is higher on his priority list than my new love life**." He snorted. Ability to lead. He did not doubt that much. What he did doubt was if he wanted to lead Berk.

Within minutes of Stoick leaving, Astrid's mother entered the forge.

"I'd like a word with you, Hiccup."

"Please come in, Mrs. Hofferson! Excuse the mess but we're a bit busy here!"

"I can see that. My daughter has been acting rather strange ever since she came back from your flight today. Would you happen to know why?"

Hiccup prayed he would not blush. "S-strange? In what way?"

"She keeps going off into daydreams, keeps looking at herself in the looking glass, blushing without any provocation, and has been humming a song I taught her when she was four. And the class she's training was dismissed an hour early." She eyed Hiccup knowingly, but not sternly. "My lad, do you think I don't know my own daughter enough to know what's going on here?"

"Mrs. Hofferson, I swear, all that happened was she…" well so much for not blushing, "well, um, she kissed me on the cheek."

"That's it?" She looked a little disappointed, which left Hiccup confused.

"Um…yes? Were you expecting more? I promise I'm not out to steal her virtue!"

"That's not what I meant." She moved to sit down but all the chairs were covered. "I just thought for the first time she's kissed a man she might have at least gone for the lips!"

Toothless looked confused. " **What's that got to do with anything**?"

Mrs. Hofferson turned serious. "But at the same time, Hiccup, I barely know you. I know you, like many others, have had a crush on her since you could walk and while I'm glad she's taking an interest in someone finally, if I get the slightest hint of any wrongdoing—" she did not finish her statement. Instead she ran her finger along the blade of a sword in the sharpen pile.

"Point taken." Hiccup said. "And no pun intended!"

Greta Hofferson smiled. "Then I hope this works out well for her—and for you too." She then bade them goodnight. She had barely been gone a minute when her husband stormed in.

"I want a word with you, young man!"

Hiccup had a number of comments he could have made, but seeing the look on Olaf Hofferson's face he held his tongue.

"What are you doing here?" Hofferson demanded.

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"What is your plan? You show up, take my daughter's title away from her, and then try to stain her reputation by pursuing her? I'll have you know that I—"

"Now wait just a minute, Mr. Hofferson! First of all, I never came here intending to become Chief! That was my father's announcement, not mine! In fact, I completely agree with you that Astrid is the better choice for it!"

Hofferson looked surprised and became uncertain how to continue. "Oh…you, you do?"

"Yes sir, I do, and Astrid and I discussed it very thoroughly today. While I would gladly step aside for her, she feels honor bound to let me have the position."

"Oh. Well, if she decided…and if she thought it was the honorable thing to do…" Olaf said to himself.

"As for staining her reputation, Mr. Hofferson, I'd rather be in the cells on Berserk again than do such a thing!"

" **What's all this stuff and scales about honor? She's the one who did that kissing thing, not you!** "

"Sir, I understand your concerns entirely, but I promise you, nothing happened between us beyond a lot of talking and a chaste kiss."

"Your word of honor on that?"

"Yes sir."

"Will you swear on your dragon's life that it will not go any further than that?"

"Isn't that Astrid's decision too, sir?"

Olaf looked surprised and a little embarrassed. "Good point. All right then, assuming this relationship goes further: will you swear on your dragon's life that you will treat my daughter with the utmost respect and care?"

Hiccup nodded seriously. "I'll swear on my life and on the life of Toothless, Mr. Hofferson. If any harm ever comes to Astrid, it will not be because of me."

Hofferson turned to leave, but then turned back, as if something had occurred to him. "Not to rush things, of course, but if you two were to get married—"

Hiccup's eyebrows nearly shot up into his hair.

" **Finally somebody else mentioned it**!" Toothless cried with relief.

"What's he doing?" Olaf asked.

Hiccup smacked Toothless on the head. "He's glad somebody else says what he's been saying all day."

"A dragon has been playing matchmaker?"

Hiccup laughed. "Oh, sir, you have _no_ idea!"

"Well, as I was saying, if you two were to get married, it would settle this who Chiefdom business in a way that would please both our families."

"Excluding the Jorgenson relatives,"

"It's their own fault they blew their chance. But if you and Astrid were to—"

"Um, Sir? So far Astrid has done nothing but kiss me on the cheek. I might be wrong, but I _think_ it's a little premature to start discussing marrying her."

Embarrassed, Olaf Hofferson apologized and made his way to the door again. And again, he turned back as if something else had occurred to him. "By the way, lad, I want to thank you." He spoke sincerely. "You saved my daughter, you cleared my brother's name, and you've done your best to make her the Heir. And while I'm aware I don't know you very well, if you continue as well as you've begun, I think you'd make an honorable son-in-law."

Hiccup looked down at the sword he was supposed to be sharpening. Marry Astrid? He'd dreamed of that when he was a boy, but then again most of the boys had at that age—once they started realizing girls were attractive and not diseased creatures to avoid at all costs. As he grew older, just succeeding in getting her to talk with him would have made him the happiest person alive. And now, here they were, back after just a few days and already her father was suggesting marriage! Good grief!

Then again, it was not too surprising Astrid's father had already brought marriage up, for there was generally little courtship among Vikings. Normally a suitor made his offer of marriage to a woman's family, contracts and dowries were worked out, the consent of both sides was obtained, and soon the marriage took place. Love and affection typically waited until after the couple was married, though since both sides had to consent to it most Viking marriages did not turn out too badly. Still, Hiccup was convinced it was a bit early to propose marriage at the moment. It was not Viking tradition, but since when had tradition had any impact on him?

Toothless eyed him mischievously. " **I know what you're thinking about**."

" **Oh, you can read minds now**?"

" **Yes, and I'm happy you've finally gotten something you wanted**."

" **I haven't 'gotten' her, Bud. I have no idea how things are going to go. Honestly, I don't even know if I'm in a relationship with her! I don't even know how she feels about this!"** He picked up the sword and went over to the wheel. **"But I'm glad you approve."**

The door opened again. This time it was Snotlout.

"I want to talk to you, Hiccup!"

"You and the rest of Berk, it seems."

Ruffnut then burst in.

"Hiccup, sweetie, we need to talk!"

"' **Sweetie**?'" Toothless exclaimed.

Fishlegs followed her in. "Hiccup, we need to talk! You are not going to believe what I've just heard!"

Hiccup put down the sword. "Sorry, guys, we're closed until further notice!"

"But I—"

"Closed! Toothless, help me!"

The dragon began to carefully but firmly push the visitors out the door.

"But Hiccup, I just heard—!"

"But sweetie, I thought you and I were—!"

"Look here cousin, I thought I made it clear to you—!"

Hiccup shoved the door shut. "Closed!"

He took a deep breath and ignored the pounding on the door. " **Now perhaps I can make some progress, huh, Bud**?" He picked up a sword and began to sharpen it, and as he did so he began to sing the song he had started the day before.

" _My ancestor was a renowned jester_

 _Who sang for a Chola Princess one day_

 _My ancestor found that it distressed her_

 _If, afterwards, she did not hear him say:_

' _I'd place a garland of star jasmine_

 _White as alabaster_

 _Upon your shoulders and make you mine_

 _And as smiles crept onto your face_

 _My heart would beat faster_

 _And I'd place a ruby red sindoor_

 _Upon your noble brow_

 _With this and the jasmine garland_

 _It would then be clear to all the world_

 _We will never part now…'_ "

"I hope so, Astrid," Hiccup grinned.


	25. Chapter 25

**I Own Nothing. If I did I probably wouldn't have to worry about my retirement.**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 25**

 **How to Train Your Dragon Riders**

The following day the Owl Guts and the Bog Burglar ships arrived at last. Nearly 30 ships crowded their way into Berk's harbor. Gort was among the first to disembark, followed by his daughter Marva.

"Stoick, old friend! This is highly irregular! I get a message begging for my aid in rescuing you, and I rush into action at once, and then I'm a few days out when I get another message saying you've already been rescued, but to please continue sailing to Berk! And all the while I'm getting news from passing ships telling me of a great battle with the Berserkers and that your dead son is alive and the ruler of Dragons!" He spotted Hiccup and looked over him with curiosity. "So you are the Dragon King?" He shook Hiccup's hand warmly. "Well, if what I heard about Berserker is true, I hope to Odin you're not angry at me for anything!"

Hiccup smiled. "Not at all, Gort,"

"I'm very glad to hear it. Let me look at you, lad. Hmm. You look a lot better than you did the last time I saw you. That must have been…10, 12 years ago? How old are you now, my boy?"

"23,"

"23? You look younger."

" **I feel older** ," Hiccup mumbled in Dragonese so no humans could understand him. Marva approached him now.

"So it's true, is it? Hiccup the Useless is the Dragon King?"

"Marva!" her father snapped. "What have I told you about how to behave in front of Chiefs?"

Marva rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Hi, Hiccup, how ya doin'?"

"Just fine, Marva."

Gort said hurriedly "Have you seen Bertha yet?"

"She is right behind you!" announced the Chief of the Bog Burglars. Next to her was her daughter, Camicazi, whom Hiccup had not seen in nearly a decade. Astrid's description had not been inaccurate: she was, by any standard, incredibly beautiful; long golden hair, a thin but muscular body, and lovely blue eyes.

"Hello there, Hiccup," she smiled. It was a smile that would have made any man's heart flutter.

Hiccup, however, was not any man, and in his mind, Camicazi could not hold a candle to Astrid. So instead of blushing and stuttering he acted as though they were just old friends.

"Hi, Camicazi," he said easily. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"You've been very busy, by the sound of it." She suddenly came forward and gave him a fierce hug, which made his back hurt again.

Further down on the docks Snotlout and Fishlegs stared goggle-eyed.

"When did Camicazi turn into a goddess?" Snotlout whispered.

"Oh gorgeous, where have you been all my life?" Fishlegs whimpered.

Ruffnut walked over to them. "Um, guys? You're drooling. And—hey, is that Camicazi?" She suddenly became enraged. "And is she hugging my Hiccup?!"

"' _Your_ Hiccup?'" laughed Tuffnut, "don't let Astrid hear you say that!" Luckily for Ruffnut and possibly Hiccup and Camicazi, Astrid was in the woods with her students that morning. A runner had been sent to fetch her, but had yet to find them.

Camicazi pulled out of the embrace. "I must say, you seem to be in pretty good shape, all things considered."

"Thanks. Now give me back my sword."

Camicazi looked puzzled.

"Cami, picking a person's pocket while hugging them is a very old fashioned trick. Hand it back."

"Fine," she revealed Hiccup's sword Inferno was in her hand and gave it to him. "You're good. Most men never notice when I do that—until it's too late!"

Bertha looked at her daughter proudly.

As they went to Mead Hall Marva suddenly started walking right next to Hiccup and said "I'm all excited to hear about your encounter with Drago Bludvist! What was he like? What did it feel like to be brought before him? Did he subdue any dragons while you were there?"

"Excuse me?"

Marva went on without listening to him. "Is he really as intimidating as they say he is? Is it true he can control a dragon by just waving his hand?"

"Do you think I was paying him a social visit?" Hiccup asked in disgust.

"Of course not!" Gort said loudly.

"Typical Dad," Marva grumbled.

Mildew was out with his cabbages.

"Cabbages nice and fresh!" he shouted.

" _He's_ still around?" Camicazi muttered to Hiccup. Unfortunately he spotted her.

"Well, well, well! It's the girls from the tribe full of them old ladies! It's thanks ta them and them dragons the world's fallin' ta ruin," he shouted to the rest of the people passing by. "See wot 'appens when women rule?"

Camicazi and Bertha stopped in their tracks, and so did everyone else. "You want to say that again?" Cami asked dangerously.

"No. But ah do wanna say that a woman in charge is a dangerous thing!" he bellowed.

"Mildew, shut up!" Stoick shouted. A wiser man would have taken the hint but Mildew had gotten fed up with everything over the past few days.

"It's all right, Stoick," Bertha said coldly, "I know _you_ don't treat your guests this way,"

"Guests, vests, and all the rests! Make ma words, the only fittin' place fer a woman is on the bed!" Mildew jeered.

Camicazi casually took off her boots and socks. Then she suddenly pointed at something behind Mildew. Mildew turned around. When he turned back he saw Camicazi had climbed onto his cart and was walking barefooted over his cabbages.

Mildew's face instantly turned bright red. "WHY YOU—YOU—YOU—ME CABBAGES!"

A small crowd had gathered and was laughing loudly. Cami responded by doing a small gigue before she climbed down. The damage was done. Even if her feet had not been muddy, which they were, nobody was going to buy any of those cabbages now.

"Stoick! Ah demand justice!" Mildew screamed.

Stoick shrugged. "I think Camicazi just gave you that,"

"Just remember, Mildew," Cami said as she put on her socks and boots, "when you go around saying nasty things you can't expect everyone to just let you get away with it!"

Bertha gave her daughter a hug for this. Mildew broke into yet another tirade of swear words. It was becoming a normal reaction for him.

The three Chiefs and their inner circles met in Mead Hall. Gort and Bertha both understood the situation at once and were quite willing to help, especially after Hiccup pointed out how their own tribes would be in danger whether they helped or not. Both Chiefs observed that their tribes were tired after a long and boring voyage and would welcome the chance for action instead of sailing home after a needless trip. However, the crews were tired, the ships would need repairs and refitting, and weapons would need sharpening. Hiccup and Stoick already had expected to spend the day on this and they agreed to postpone the movement one more day, albeit reluctantly.

"The longer we wait the more time Drago has to make a move against us," Hiccup warned.

"We move the day after tomorrow, son, and no later." Stoick assured him. "If Drago can come up with something in that time, he's smarter than I'd give him credit for."

That did not reassure Hiccup, but he kept his mouth shut. The last thing he needed was to say something that would scare anyone into backing out.

"So," Bertha said, "We are agreed about allying ourselves with Berk against the common foe. What I want to know is what role will dragons play in this?"

All eyes turned to Hiccup. "That's simple enough. Either we attack a fleet of ships at sea or we attack Berserk. In the case of the former, it's a straight forward sea battle, and the dragons will fly around destroying enemy ships and preventing reinforcements from arriving. In the case of the latter, the dragons will provide covering fire while our troops land and then join in the attack. In other words, it'll be a typical Viking battle, only for the first time in history there will be support from the air."

"And we'll go in with those explosives Hiccup used on Berserk." Stoick added. "I've got people rounding up all the jars they can. Hiccup's got the powder on his island. He'll fly there the morning we set out and bring the powder to our ships. We'll prepare the explosives as we're sailing."

"Don't want the Twins getting their hands on what's left of it until the fighting begins." There were nods of agreement.

"And only you will be riding a dragon?" Bertha asked Hiccup.

"Well…"

"Hang on a minute!" Snotlout exclaimed, "what about me and Hookfang?"

"Snotlout," Astrid whispered warningly. During meetings like this she believed it was best that those with little authority should only speak when spoken to.

"No, Astrid, I want to know! Hiccup, why did you bring those dragons to Berk if you were not going to have us take them into combat?"

Hiccup sighed. "Snotlout, they came to Berk because they wanted to be with you guys, and I wanted to show Berk and her friends up close that dragons and humans can live together. And while I have considered the idea of people riding them into combat a thousand times, you've only ridden Hookfang—how many times now, two or three? Do you think you're ready to fly a dragon into battle?"

"You let Fishlegs and the Twins do that on Berserk!" Snotlout griped.

"They dropped explosives from the air, and Meatlug blasted a ramp with Fishlegs on her back. Have you ever tried dodging a million arrows and boulders flying towards you while in the air? Do you think I was doing stuff like that the first times I rode Toothless?"

"Well why can't we just drop explosives again? I'd love to drop some of those things onto the enemy!"

"Just a minute!" Camicazi interrupted, "If they can ride dragons into battle, I wanna ride one too!"

"So do I!" Marva added eagerly, to her father's surprise.

"Well—"

"I think it would be better to have some riders on those dragons," Bertha agreed. "And if we do, the Bog Burglars must be represented." The members of her tribe present nodded vigorously.

"As should the Owl Guts," said Gort, which prompted nods from his own tribe members.

"And I'm going with Hookfang! The two of us are unbeatable!"

"I think 'e's right," Spitelout said with a crafty smile.

"Look, I—"

"And I insist Astrid goes too with her Nadder," Olaf Hofferson said, "if she wants too, of course."

Astrid nodded. "Of course I do,"

"Well, Hiccup?" Stoick said.

"This discussion is feeling a bit one sided."

"Well, Hiccup?" Bertha said forcefully.

"Well—but—look, I can't train you guys to manage dragons in combat in under two days! And, Camicazi, Marva, you two don't even know how to ride dragons! You don't even have dragons to ride!"

"You've got a few here that don't have riders," Snotlout pointed out. "That white one, the green one, and the pink one. That makes five—no, three, sorry."

"Astrid, what do you think of this?" Asked Stoick. He called upon her because he guessed she had the most influence on Hiccup.

"We can do it," Astrid said firmly.

Hiccup got the feeling he did not really have a choice in this matter. He knew arguing would counter his own war effort, so he agreed—on the condition that he would have the final say in who would be riding a dragon and he would permit any discussion once he made his decision.

So now he had less than two days to teach a group of people how to ride a dragon well enough to fly it in a pitched battle. Camicazi he felt could handle, but he was entirely opposed to Marva riding a dragon. Not only did he dislike her but he knew she liked Drago Bludvist, which was hardly the role model he had in mind for potential dragon riders. But he could not figure out how to say so to her father without offending him and he figured if he brought it up his own father would dismiss it and order him to train her for the sake of diplomacy.

" **Diplomacy. The way to sound nice while either insulting people or making them do things they don't like.** "

Astrid watched with amusement as Hiccup was surrounded by nearly 20 youngsters the moment he entered the arena. A large portion of her trainees, Gustav Larson, and many others immediately began begging with him and pleading with him and offering bribes and a few threats, all so they could ride a dragon.

She nudged Stormfly. "And who'd have thought a year ago this would happen?" Due to the noise nobody else but Stormfly heard her. Gustav and Ase were among the most vocal in their desire for a fire breathing winged friend. After a minute of attempting to reason, Hiccup gave up bothering to respond and just folded his arms and waited for the small mob to slowly realize it might want to simmer down.

Hiccup finally spoke when it was quiet. "Thank you!" He glanced over the group. "I'm glad to see so many enthusiastic recruits!" A loud yell went up and the noise began again. This time Hiccup did not wait but roared.

"NIGHT FURY!"

"GET DOWN!"

"One day nobody will react like that," Hiccup said dryly. One by one the kids sheepishly got back on their feet, "Now as I was saying, there's a problem: I have at the moment only one dragon who has no rider and no more will be coming for a while, so…that means only one person here will get to ride a dragon for the time being." A loud groan went up. "Now look guys, I'm sorry but that's the way it is! But listen: after this war is over, assuming I survive, my hope and intention is that each and every one of you will get to ride a dragon! You have my word on it! You've just gotta be patient a little longer, that's all." A loud cheer went up. It was followed by another loud groan when Astrid stepped in and told everyone to go help out their families.

"See?" She told Hiccup as the crowd dispersed. "You can do a good job leading!"

"I never said I couldn't. I just don't know if I want to lead Berk." He realized Gustav was still in the arena. "Hey, Gustav, what's up?"

"I wanna be a rider! You said you had one dragon available! I wanna ride him—or is it a her? I don't care, I wanna be a rider!" He looked like a child begging for a new toy. Perhaps in his mind he was.

Astrid looked horrified. She grabbed Hiccup by the ear and dragged him away so they would not be overheard. "No, no, and no! You are _not_ letting Gustav be a rider!"

"State your case, then, because I barely know him."

"He's irresponsible, reckless, never listens, has a horrible crush on me which keeps him unfocused, he causes more problems than he solves…do I need to go on?"

Hiccup shook his head and smiled thoughtfully. "Sounds a bit like me 10 years ago,"

Astrid was flabbergasted. "You're _considering_ this?"

"Hey, he'll be a picnic compared to Marva, and speaking of which…" Marva and Camicazi came jogging into the arena as he spoke. Right behind them were the dragons and the Hooligan Riders. Hiccup told Gustav to join the group and Gustav nearly kissed his feet (or foot, as Snotlout would say).

"What about me?" Astrid asked. Over the years she had gotten used to being the one doing the teaching. Hiccup asked her to stay where she was.

"So Hiccup, what's the plan?" Snotlout asked eagerly.

"Yeah, when do we get to do some serious destruction?" The Twins hollered.

"How soon before I can get up in the air again?" Fishlegs squealed.

"Which Dragon do I get?" Gustav cried.

"Who said _he_ gets a dragon?" Snotlout demanded.

"Which dragon do I get?" Camicazi asked excitedly.

Most of this was said simultaneously. Only Marva kept silent. Hiccup shook his head and raised a hand.

"Ok. First things first. Astrid, you are going to take the established Riders for a few warm up flights around Berk. The focus will be getting a better feel for your dragons and getting comfortable being on them. Gustav, Cami, and Marva, you three will stay here for the moment." Hiccup waited until the established Riders had left before going on. "Ok, Gustav, let's do you first,"

" **Smart. He looks like he's going to wet himself if you make him wait any longer** " Toothless commented.

"What's he saying?" Gustav asked eagerly.

"He said it was smart to have you go first. Now—"

"Will I get to learn how to speak to dragons?"

"That'll be up to you and your dragon. Now, let's see…" Hiccup did not consider himself to be sexist, or at least he did not mean to be, but in this case he figured that a male dragon would be better suited to a male human. So he had Shamrock come over.

" **Just as long as he's not like the last one** ," the Treejumper grumbled.

" **That's highly unlikely**." Personally, Hiccup would have paired Gustav with someone like Evictus, but he had to make do with what he had. "All right, Gustav, hold out your hand like this and…" he gently led Gustav's hand to Shamrock's snout. Shamrock sniffed, and abruptly pulled back, shaking his head.

Gustav was stunned. "But you said—!"

"Gustav, it's all right. It took me several tries before Toothless would let me touch him, this can take time—which we don't have right at the moment," he looked at Shamrock angrily. " **Shamrock, what's going on**?"

" **I'm sorry, but I won't bond with him. Something about him just doesn't sit right with me**."

" **Then will you at least let him ride you until I find someone who will**?"

Shamrock gave in after a minute of thinking.

"Ok, Gustav, here's the deal. Shamrock seems unwilling to bond with you—but he's willing to let you ride him for now, and he might change his mind later!" Hiccup added quickly, for Gustav looked about ready to cry. "So, for now, you'll ride him, and then, once we get the chance, I'll find you a dragon you can bond with. Ok?"

"Why don't you _make_ him bond with the dragon?" Marva demanded.

"That's not how it's done, Marva."

"Why not? It's what Drago would do!"

"Drago has never bonded with a dragon, so he wouldn't know now would he?"

"But he's got an army of them, so he must be using a method that works!"

"Correction: he _had_ an army of them. An army made up of beaten and scared slaves. That's not how we're going to do this."

"But Hiccup, how will I know if a dragon wants to bond with me?" Gustav asked nervously.

Hiccup thought of how he could explain this. "You know those stories you hear about love at first sight? I'm not saying bonding is like falling in love with a dragon, but it's kinda similar…once you see that person, you just know somehow. And it's not just with humans either: you look through a pile of axes or swords, or jewelry or a vase, and you find one that feels exactly what you're looking for. You can't explain exactly how you know this, but you know. It's the same situation here. And we'll find you a suitable dragon, Gustav, don't worry."

"So can I go flying now?" He asked eagerly. "I wanna show Astrid! And speaking of which I wanna talk to you about—"

"I'll help you saddle up." Hiccup interrupted. "Once you're up in the air, find Astrid and join her group. **Shamrock, make sure he gets there safely, ok**?"

" **Sure thing** ,"

Gustav was positively delighted to be told to find Astrid and join her. But he nearly did not because he was so excited he almost fell off several times before Shamrock got into the air.

There was no trouble with Camicazi and Midnight. The blond Bog Burglar goddess and white Snow Demon took to each other like ducks to water. The only problem was Camicazi decided she liked the name Stormfly better than Midnight.

"Why can't there be two Stormflys?"

"Because that would cause more confusion than we need." Hiccup said patiently, "you can't steal a name, Cami. Astrid and the real Stormfly would not like it. Nor would Midnight, I imagine,"

" **Oh it doesn't sound so bad** ," Midnight mused, " **and I have flown through snow storms in the past** ,"

" **We could call her Stormfly 2** ," Toothless teased.

" **You're supposed to be on** _ **my**_ **side, Bud**!"

Hiccup ended the debate by giving Cami the same instructions he told Gustav, and she was thrilled to obey. That left Marva, and Hiccup honestly would rather teach Dagur the Deranged how to fly a dragon than her. He just hoped Persephone, the last remaining dragon, had the temperament to work with him on this.

"Ok, Marva, let's get you on Persephone,"

"Why does she have such a stupid name?"

"It's the Greek Goddess of the Underworld,"

" **I prefer the Daughter of the Greek Goddess of the Harvest** ,"

"Actually, that sounds pretty fitting, because that's what we're gonna be, aren't we, Stephanie?" Marva slapped Persephone on the head with more force than she probably intended.

Hiccup was indignant. "Easy there! You don't want to hurt her. When you're in the air, she's all that'll keep you from falling to your death."

"Whatever. So do I get a whip?"

" **What**?" Persephone cried. Hiccup said the same thing.

"You know, a whip, so I can get her to go faster when I want her too! Show her who's in charge!"

"Simply saying 'go faster' usually works," Hiccup said dryly. "And we do not use whips."

"Then how about a rod, or a pike or something? Drago Bludvist uses one!" Persephone started shaking. Toothless's pupils turned to narrow slits.

"Ok, that's it. Persephone, you may leave. Marva, you're not becoming a Dragon Rider."

"What?"

"Do you seriously think I'm going to let you after what you've been saying? You idolize Drago so much I think you'd join him at the first opportunity! Or perhaps that's the actual plan?"

"Listen Toothpick, his methods clearly work, so why can't I use 'em? I'd use a whip on a horse or a donkey, why not a dragon?"

"Because dragons are not horses or donkeys," Hiccup snapped, "and even if they were, I would not beat one."

"That's how you've always been, Useless. Too weak and too tender hearted. It's sickening. That's why you were always so easy to pick on when you were younger. You couldn't man up, and you still can't!"

"So you have to hurt a dragon to be a man?" Hiccup folded his arms. "And do you really think insulting me is going make me change my mind? On the contrary, you're only confirming my decision!"

Marva put her hands on her hips. "And how do you think my father will react when you tell him this?"

"Hopefully, he'll ground you for a month and teach you to show a little courtesy to other people."

"My father has no power over me, Useless. Suppose I tell the Owl Guts to sail away? That wouldn't be very good for your little war, now would it?"

Hiccup decided to call her bluff. "Yeah, good luck persuading your tribesmen to do that." And yet he was starting to change his mind and consider his options. This could escalate and cause a problem with the alliance, something he wanted to avoid. Perhaps a flight on a dragon would change Marva enough. After all, it had worked on most others so far. And if a flight failed to, then he would be furnished with stronger reasons to not make Marva a Dragon Rider. So he humbly apologized, admitted he had been hasty, called Persephone back, and helped Marva to mount her. However, he also flat out told Marva to not use Drago as a role model for this, and he intentionally skipped the part of trying to get Marva to bond with Persephone.

Marva, of course, saw his apology as a sign of weakness and kept making rude comments about every move he made. When a saddle strap needed adjusting, she demanded why it hadn't been done right in the first place. When Hiccup told her to loosen up on the reigns or she'd strangle Persephone, Marva snapped that she already knew that and didn't need his help to tell her that. Hiccup began to wonder if she and Mildew were somehow related.

" **How are you holding up, Persephone**?" Toothless asked.

" **I now see why Grimm has such distaste for humans** ," she moaned, " **I hope this is not permanent. She weighs too much and she's tugging on my throat**!"

The Dragon King saw this too. He mentally slapped himself for giving Marva one of the smaller dragons available, but, as he noted before, he was making do with what he had. " **I'm really sorry, Persephone, but it's only for a few days at most. I'll give you some greengages every night for a month, if that'll make you feel better**." Persephone loved that fruit.

Persephone composed herself. " **If the survival of my kin requires my pain, I can withstand this and not share the burden with others**."

It still felt like hours before Marva was up in the air. And just like everyone else, she was so excited about flying that she was actually civil for a few minutes as they moved to join the others.

There was no fixed method for what they were doing, but Hiccup had some plans in mind. In aerial combat their main problem would be the projectiles. The enemy would shoot arrows, spears, nets, chains and boulders at them, so two essentials for fighting in the air would be good maneuverability and quick reflexes. So he had his team practice making sharp turns at random moments.

"Imagine there's a volley of arrows heading straight for you. The moves you make will decide if you live or not!" he told them. Then he quickly began shouting "Up! Left! Left again! Right! Now dive!"

For someone like Astrid, this was easy. She had a fast and agile dragon and she already had good reflexes. For Fishlegs and Meatlug, it was much more of a challenge. They were large, slow, and cumbersome. Hiccup made a mental note that they should wear more protective gear. For the three new riders, Gustav was enjoying riding Shamrock so much that he seemed oblivious to the fact that he was training for combat. Marva kept shouting and kicking Persephone, urging her to go faster and complaining when she did not. Camicazi, however, was doing almost as well as Astrid. Snotlout was having trouble directing Hookfang. The Nightmare would intentionally do the opposite of Snotlout what ordered. Still, they were flying quickly and Hookfang's random twists and turns would make them a hard target. It was very much the same story for the Twins, except the trouble was not that the dragon was messing around with the rider; it was that the riders were messing around with each other and the dragon was caught in the middle of it. The most frequent problem, Hiccup saw, was when Tuff wanted to go one direction and Ruff wanted to go the other direction, which either resulted in them colliding with each other, or pulling on Barf n' Belch's necks so much the Zippleback looked ready to be split in half, and what was even stranger was that the dragon seemed to be enjoying it.

They engaged in these practices for most of the morning, and then Gustav began complaining his rear end was getting sore. Several others echoed the complaint, so when Hiccup spotted an island he told them to land and have some lunch. First, however, he put them through some stretches that would make their muscles hurt less later on.

" **Hang on a minute, where's Persephone**?" Toothless suddenly said.

"Where's Marva?" Camicazi asked almost at the same time. All eyes shot upwards and they saw the pink dragon carrying Marva away westwards.

"Now where are they going?" Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup shook his head in exasperation. "I don't know and I don't really care. C'mon, Bud, let's go bring them back."

"Couldn't you just have Toothless order them back?" Astrid asked. "I thought a Beta had mind control over its subjects."

Hiccup mounted the Night Fury. "They do. But Toothless isn't a Beta anymore," They were in the air and gone before they could explain further.

" **Now where did they go? They were just over there.** " The King scanned the horizon and pulled out his spotting glass.

" **How could you lose sight of a person that large**?"

" **How could** _ **I**_ **lose sight of them?** _ **You're**_ **the one who's always boasting about their superior vision**."

Marva had gotten separated from the group some time before they went in for a landing, mostly because Persephone was not used to carrying a human on her back and was flying slower than normal. Marva had not helped matters by repeatedly kicking Persephone, urging her to go faster. At the same time, Marva had intentionally tried to get away from the group. She did not like any of them and wanted to be alone. As it was, she had not seen the others land because she was facing the wrong direction and was too far away to hear Hiccup. So they just kept going. Persephone was getting increasingly anxious but Marva could hardly care less if they found Hiccup or not.

"And they call him the 'Dragon King.' Hah! If that wimp of a fishbone is a king, Drago Bludvist is a God!" Still, she had the sense to not get too far away from the others and when she spotted a large island she ordered Persephone to land. Persephone was only too happy to oblige her.

"What a weak dragon," Marva said scornfully, for Persephone was panting heavily, "Figures Useless would give me a crummy one. Course, if he let me use Drago's methods I'd have her whipped into shape in no time." She just could not see why he would not allow this. Drago's methods had worked, had they not? For her, much like Snotlout, it was the results that mattered, not the means.

She wandered around lost in thought about what she would do now that she was riding a dragon, when she became aware of a breathing sound. She followed it to a huge clearing and came upon the largest dragon she had ever seen, fast asleep in the late morning sunshine.

The dragon was a dirty white color and looked more like a snake with wings than a dragon. Its spiked tail alone was nearly 40 feet long. Its massive head was larger than Persephone's entire body, and its mouth, from what she could see of it, looked about as wide as the Night Fury's wingspan. All of a sudden it yawned and she saw its mouth was filled with rows of teeth, the largest ones being as tall as she was. It opened its eyes and she saw they were bright red. They burned like sunlight in the desert. Then it rolled over, snuggled into a pile of dirt, and resumed its siesta.

Marva's mind instantly got busy. She admired the obvious raw power in the dragon's body. It was a colossal improvement over the weak Persephone. She imagined bringing this giant dragon into Berk as her own. She imagined bringing it to Drago Bludvist. Everyone would be awed that she, Marva, had tamed this mighty beast into servitude. Such a thought greatly excited her. And she would tame it by using Drago's methods, instead of those stupid ideas Hiccup the Useless carried around. Intimidation, fear, punishment, and oppression, those were much better suited to this than anything Hiccup might have in mind, and she would prove it so.

So she grabbed a large branch and walked right up to the dragon, which she was unaware was called a Screaming Death, and poked it right in the nose.

Up in the air a ways away Hiccup and Toothless were getting annoyed, when Toothless turned his head sharply.

" **Did you hear something**?"

" **Yes I did, Bud. Let's check it out**!"

What they had heard had been the Screaming Death's reaction to being poked awake. Now that it was awake and could see who had disturbed it, it actually was uncertain of what to make of it. This was unfamiliar territory for it. After all, most Screaming Deaths do not expect to be woken up by little humans waving sticks around. It eyed Marva with more curiosity than anger.

Marva, for her part, was waving the branch around and roaring loudly, though to the Screaming Death it was only a mild yell. She thought it was working, for the Dragon seemed quite tame. Yet at the same time, it was not doing what she wanted. She expected it to cower, but it was only staring at her. The Dragon actually seemed rather amused by what it was seeing. And Marva did not like that. She wanted it to fear her and become obedient, not be amused!

After a few minutes the Dragon decided it had seen enough and got up to find a new island to sleep on. Marva, in a fit of pique, flung her branch at the creature and got it right in the eye.

The Screaming Death instantly roared and rounded on her. The only reason she was not killed on the spot was because the Dragon was distracted by the pain in its eye. But the sight of the enraged beast was so horrifying Marva panicked at once and ran for it. She never ran so fast in all her life. Her only thought was to get on her dragon and get out of there. She reached Persephone just fine, but when they took off the Screaming Death spotted them. It roared again and shot after them.

Persephone shouted all kinds of friendly apologies at it but the white dragon paid her no heed. It opened its mouth and shot a large ball of fire at them. Persephone only barely dodged it. Marva was holding onto the reigns for dear life and screaming at the dragon to go faster. Persephone chanced a glance back and saw the Screaming Death was right upon them, its hellish eyes blazing, its mouth wide opened, and its rows of teeth gleaming. It was getting closer! Persephone screamed for help. The Screaming Death screamed in reply and she felt herself grow dizzy. It would have them in seconds!

Suddenly a plasma blast got it right in the mouth and Toothless and his rider swooped into view.

"Keep going! We'll cover you!" Hiccup shouted. Persephone needed no encouragement. Marva did not seem to notice; she was still screaming herself hoarse. Hiccup and Toothless swooped around the Screaming Death and dodged a fireball, then another one. This one was so close Hiccup's hair would have caught fire had he not been wearing his helmet.

" **This is** _ **not**_ **how I imagined my day going**!" Toothless shouted.

" **Confuse it, Bud, spin left now**!" 

Over on their island, the other Dragon Riders had heard the noise and saw what was going on. Astrid at once climbed onto Stormfly.

"Come on, we've gotta help!"

Snotlout looked annoyed. "Um, excuse me, but that's Marva the Larva who's in trouble. Why on earth should we be helping her?"

Astrid glared at him. "Because Hiccup is," That was reason enough for the rest of them. As they flew they watched with horror as it seemed Persephone and Marva were about to be eaten, then cheered when Hiccup and Toothless attacked. Astrid quickly saw what one problem was: Persephone was too tired and Marva was not helping matters. Those two would have a better chance if they were separated.

"Snot, can Hookfang carry a dragon?"

"What? I mean, of course he can! Hookfang can carry anything!"

"Ok, Stormfly and I will go in and pull Marva off of Persephone. Hookfang, grab her, understand?"

"Grab who?" Snotlout asked nervously.

"Persephone of course! Everyone else go help Hiccup! It's time for some real combat training!"

"Um, I think she's enjoying this!" Fishlegs whimpered.

Astrid might have been enjoying this, but Hiccup and Toothless were not. The Screaming Death shot ball after ball of fire at them. They swerved in every conceivable direction to dodge the onslaught, which led them unknowingly further away from the aid of the other dragon riders.

For cover they sped towards some sea stacks, which the Screaming Death promptly smashed into, sending rocks flying. One lucky piece struck Hiccup in the head, but thankfully his helmet was still on. His ears started ringing, however.

" **How much longer do we have to do this**?" Toothless shouted as he dodged a larger bounder as it plummeted to the sea below them.

" **Just a little longer Bud, hang in there**!" Hiccup sounded calm, but he was clinging to his saddle for dear life. The Screaming Death roared again and swung its tail, sending a barrage of giant spikes towards them.

" **Pull up**!"

One spike came so close Toothless felt a breeze brush against his leg, but the rest passed below them harmlessly. So the Dragon tried again. This time its aim was better. They had to make a very sharp turn to dodge them and one spike struck Hiccup's prosthetic.

" **Oh come on, I just repaired that**!" Hiccup yelled indignantly.

" **Just be glad it's not the other one**!" Toothless yelled back.

Marva had no real idea of what was going on. One moment she was sitting on a dragon's back and nearly strangling and deafening her, the next she was the grip of a very strong pair of talons and speeding through the air.

"Oh Drago, Odin, Thor, Freya, somebody help me!"

"That's what we're doing!" Astrid yelled down at her. She spotted Hookfang gently grabbing Persephone and carrying her in his claws.

Astrid shouted at him "We'll take them back to the island we were resting on! And then we'll go help the others!"

The others had finally caught up to Hiccup and Toothless, only to have Hiccup order them to turn around.

"I've got an idea, but we need to get him over land!" Hiccup yelled. That proved to be easy. The Screaming Death was so angry it followed them like a shark chasing fish. But the fish in this case were a bit too fast or nimble for it, and in its frustration it shot of more fireballs in quick succession.

Camicazi wanted to turn around and fight it but Hiccup shouted no. Fishlegs wanted to get out of there, squealing that he and his stomach were not ready for this kind of excitement. The Twins and Gustav wanted more of this kind of excitement. Hiccup shouted at them to just keep going. As if to reinforce his point, a fireball almost got Gustav and Shamrock. Gustav abruptly began urging him to go faster. They went so fast they almost collided with Snotlout and Hookfang.

"Ok, times up," Hiccup yelled, "Toothless, pull up a little, the rest of you, just keep the dragon over that island!"

" **What's your plan**?" Toothless asked anxiously as they climbed higher.

" **You won't like it**." Hiccup replied. He pulled the lever that allowed Toothless to glide. " **Just keep going in circles until you can land. If you can't, I'm sure Hookfang or Midnight will pick up you up**."

" **And just what are you going to be doing in the meantime**?" The Night Fury demanded.

" **Try and put a Screaming Death to sleep**." Hiccup stood up.

" **You're going to—WHAT? NO, NO, NO, YOU ARE NOT** —"

" **Oh come on, Toothless, let's have some fun**!" And with that the King leapt off his dragon and began a free fall.

" **YOU'VE ALREADY SHORTEN MY LIFE BY 20 YEARS**!" Toothless screamed after him, and he wasn't the only one who screamed.

Hiccup plunged through the air. At the very last moment he opened the wings of his flight suit and gently floated downwards. The Screaming Death was right below him, though it was unaware of it, being focused on Fishlegs and Meatlug.

"Careful," Hiccup whispered, "Careful…" he adjusted himself and managed to land squarely on the Screaming Death's large head. With no time to waste he pulled Dragon nip out of a pocket and shoved it against the Screaming Death's nostril. The dragon inhaled once, twice, a third time, and then was out like a candle. It stopped moving its wings and fell like a rock right onto the island below it. As it did, Hiccup leapt into the air again and glided to the ground. The Screaming Death was not so lucky, and took out a few trees as it landed, though it was blissfully unaware of it.

The other riders were surprised by how suddenly the danger and passed. At Hiccup's request Hookfang flew off to collect Toothless while Midnight and Stormfly went to collect Persephone and Marva. When the Night Fury was safely on land, the very first thing he did was walk over to Hiccup and clobber him with his tail.

" **Of all the people in the world I had to make friends with the most idiotic, reckless, and insane of them**!"

" **That's why you love hanging out with me, Bud**!"

Astrid then punched him in the chest. "What were you thinking?"

"Well if you had a better plan, I'd love to hear it! How else was I going to get him to calm down? Maybe you could use a little dragon nip yourself!"

"I know I sure could," Fishlegs groaned as he flopped on the ground.

Gustav was looking at the sleeping Screaming Death. "Cool! So when will it be waking up? Can I ride him, Hiccup? Please, please, please?"

"Are you crazy? Absolutely not!" Astrid snapped.

Hiccup held up a hand. "That'll depend on what the Dragon thinks when he wakes up, which will probably be in about ten minutes. So," looking dead serious he turned to Persephone, who had just arrived. " **How the heck did you end up with a Screaming Death chasing after you**?"

The other riders watched him conversing with Persephone as they brought their heart rates back to normal.

"I wish I knew how he does that," Fishlegs said enviously, "I'd love to talk with dragons!" The others, baring Marva, agreed.

Hiccup finally turned to Marva. "All right, what's your side of the story?"

"Nothing! I was just minding my own business and that thing attacked me!"

"For no reason?"

"Does it need a reason? It's an animal, stupid!"

"You do know I can just ask the Screaming Death what happened when he wakes up. If you're lying to me, it's completely futile."

Marva shrugged uncomfortably. "So I might have tried to train it. That's what you would have done!"

Hiccup decided to just wait for the Screaming Death to wake up. Marva accused him of favoritism; that he was intentionally siding with dragons instead of his own kind. Hiccup ignored her and pulled out some bandages from a bag attached to Toothless's saddle.

"Some medical supplies." He explained to Astrid. He had gotten a few nasty cuts in the landing and the Screaming Death and Persephone had some wounds too.

"I didn't know you carried that around! Why didn't you use them after we escaped from the Berserkers?"

"I did. It was early the next morning when Fishlegs was on sentry duty. I would have used it earlier except the rest of you saved me the trouble—thank you for that, by the way." He added sincerely.

As he cleaned his wounds he gave his assessment of how he thought the Riders had done when confronted with a genuine danger and asked them what they thought. Overall, he was very pleased with how they had performed, calling it promising. Most of the Riders were just disappointed they had not been involved more. Further discussion was put on hold because the Screaming Death stirred and groggily looked around. All at once it darted backwards and tensed up. Hiccup approached the creature with his dragon friends right behind him.

It was a standoff. The Screaming Death eyed the group uncertainly, wondering which one would strike first and which one he should strike first. The dragons bared their fangs, clearly showing they were ready for a fight. Hiccup told them to stay alert but look less threatening. He calmly and carefully walked towards the Screaming Death with both arms raised.

"Is he crazy?" whispered Ruffnut, "I like it!"

"Is he surrendering?" Astrid said to nobody in particular.

" **Easy, there, big guy** ," the King whispered, " **There's nothing to worry about**."

" **Who are you**?" The Dragon roared so loudly everyone was nearly deafened. " **How do you speak my tongue**?"

The Dragon King carefully held up his sword (he had not brought his shield with him today) and tossed it away.

" **I'm sorry I had to use Dragon Nip on you like that, but I had little choice**."

The Screaming Death growled. " **Is that why your friend threw a stick in my eye? Did she not have a choice either**?"

The King now noticed the bruised eye up close and felt a pang in his heart.

The other humans watched amazed as the King took some bandages and gently began cleaning the dragon's wound. As he did they conversed in dragonese. While nobody could understand what was being said, it was obvious their friend was giving sympathy to the huge dragon. Some of the other dragons appeared to be chatting with it too. It was strange to see such a menacing looking creature having a casual conversation while it was being nursed by a human.

At last the King turned around. "Toothless, Astrid, you and others have called me crazy and stupid, and maybe I am. But I at least am not so stupid as to wake up a Screaming Death and fling a stick at it! That was quite a show you put on, Marva!"

"And you believe it?" Marva shrieked. "That thing tried to kill all of us and you're siding with it?"

"Yes I am. What does he have to lose by telling me the truth, a truth which perfectly confirms what Persephone told me?" He looked outraged. "Darn it, Marva, I wouldn't have minded if you'd gotten chased for trying to train him—do you think I haven't had any close calls over the years? But when I'm told that you tried to intimidate him like Drago Bludvist would have done, I am NOT going to let that pass! You almost got yourself and the rest of us killed; Toothless and Persephone especially, and all because you wanted to imitate the man we're supposed to be opposing! Good grief, woman, whose side are you on?"

"Mine!" Marva growled. "You're a fool, Useless. You think you can stop someone as powerful as Drago? I've followed his work for years; he's more powerful that you can imagine! If you're so strong and clever, why haven't you managed to kill him yet? So yes, I tried to train that dragon in Drago's way to make you see the truth, and if that stupid beast had had any brains, I would have succeeded!"

The King was unimpressed by her outburst. "You can tell that to the Chiefs when we get back to Berk. We're done here. And since you've completely blown the right to ride a dragon, Barf n' Belch will carry you back. And if the Twins have the wildest and death defying flight ever, I will thank them for it!" He stormed away to talk with the Screaming Death again.

Marva looked at the humans for support, but they looked unimpressed. Astrid and Fishlegs looked disgusted by what amounted to treason in their eyes. As for the others, Ruffnut summed up their feelings with one simple sentence when she said "Sheesh, Marva, even I know better than to anger a Screaming Death!"

Marva turned to Hiccup. If he was going to insult her like this, she'd pay him back. "I heard you had a panic attack in the cells on Berserk."

He ignored her.

"I would have loved to see your pathetic little body being flogged, you know that? I'd have loved to see it!" Hiccup froze and started shaking slightly. "Oh, does it hurt you to remember it? Does it hurt you to know you're trapped in a cell and being whipped by a powerful man who—"

"Shut up."

"—Can beat you up and there's nothing you can do about it? Does it hurt to know how weak flesh really is? To feel that lash on your face and back, to know—"

"Shut up!"

"To know that—"

Astrid was about to step in, but Hiccup suddenly roared, whipped out Inferno, and flung it at Marva. It missed her by inches.

"You think it's funny?" He shouted. "Shall I give you a taste of real pain?"

"Hiccup?" Astrid said nervously. There was a dark glint in his eyes that terrified all of them. Toothless crept behind Marva so she could not get away, his pupils turned to slits. He did not approve much of what was happening, but he was on his human's side over anyone else's.

Hiccup's voice lowered to a cruel whisper. "Shall I throw you in a cell and flog you? Or put a branding iron to your face?" He seemed to grow larger as he drew closer to her. "How about I let rats chew on your mangled skin every night? Since you've praised Drago so much, you just might be a spy like Adoncia. And do you know what your precious Drago does to spies he catches?" He suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Marva by the throat. "HE THROTTLES THEM, THAT'S WHAT!"

"HICCUP!" Astrid screamed. She grabbed his shoulders trying to separate the two. Marva was so shocked she had no reaction at first. Fishlegs and Snotlout leapt in as well, and between the three of them they managed to pull them apart. Marva was enraged and now tried to fight back but Camicazi and Ruffnut grabbed her. Tuffnut and Gustav just stared with their mouths slightly opened, uncertain about whom they should help or who needed it.

Hiccup looked ready to break down and start sobbing. Instead he turned around and walked away, not looking at anybody.

"There he goes, running like the coward he is!" Marva tried to laugh hoarsely. Astrid's own temper snapped now and she punched her in the face.

"That's enough out of you," she snarled. "Hiccup!" The others followed her and found Hiccup a small distance away sitting on a rock, his head in his hands. Toothless was already next to him crooning and nuzzling him in the side.

Astrid slowly approached him "Hiccup, much as I admit Marva deserved that—"

"What's got you so riled up?" Camicazi interrupted.

"I'd rather not say," he said shortly,

Astrid gently put an arm around his shoulder, "what's wrong, Hiccup? We all want to know,"

"Why?" he demanded. "So you can torment me about it like _she_ did?" his gaze softened. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. I know you wouldn't do that," He swallowed and took a deep breath. "It was four months after I'd left Berk. We had landed near a town in Spain. I'd gone exploring the town like I often did; Toothless had gone off hunting in the woods. I stopped in a tavern for a meal and there was this girl named Adoncia. She—" Astrid saw his eyes begin to slide out of focus, "I found out later she's the daughter of some noble and a servant girl. She and her father filled their coffers partly by having her sleep with rich men with high reputations and then blackmail them for it. She assumed I was a rich, young, and naïve foreigner, because I was clearly not local and nobody poor was likely to have traveled that far. So she marked me down as her next customer and tried to seduce me."

"Tried?" Astrid repeated. For some reason she felt a bit relieved to hear that word.

"I wasn't going to sleep with a girl I'd met ten minutes earlier!" he snapped, "I politely and then firmly turned her down and tried to leave—several times. She didn't take the rejection very well. Tried to go all out with me but instead of kissing her back I ran for it. Next thing I knew she was screaming that I had attacked her and soldiers were dragging me into custody. They threw me into a cell." His voice lowered. "I can still remember the smell of the straw on the floor. I didn't keep a picklock in my leg until after this, so I had no way to escape. Then they searched my belongings and found a journal with some drawings of Toothless. They wanted to know more, and they still thought I had money hidden somewhere. Adoncia can speak and read Norse and some other languages; it opened up opportunities for her line of business."

He began to tremble but with effort controlled himself. "Adoncia and the jailer would take turns with the whips. Then there'd be times when Adoncia would lie down next to me wearing practically nothing and she'd stroke my cheek and whisper in my ear that it would all stop if I just told them what they wanted, and then hint that if I did I'd receive a wonderful reward for it…but since they'd shifted their focus from money to Toothless, I'd ignore her and it would start up again."

The trembling grew worse but he kept talking, as if compelled to get this out of him. "I was in there for nearly two weeks. Every day they'd kick me, fling their whips at me, place a branding iron against my legs…sometimes they'd have me change cells so they could have someone clean up the bloodied straw…and all the while I could hear other prisoners screaming too, pleading for them to stop and crying like children…then you'd hear the crack of a whip or the sound of bones breaking and another scream came…while at night you hear the sound of the rats scurrying around, but you see nothing in the darkness while they begin gnawing on you…then in the morning you'd see somebody being led past the cell and wonder if they were freed or being led out to be executed, and wondering if your turn was next…and sometimes wishing your turn would be next to end it all…do you have any idea what that can do to a fifteen year old boy? Look at me! Even just talking about it makes me shake! When I got out of there I couldn't look at a woman without being terrified for months! The mere sight of blood made me sick! Every time I saw a dark haired woman I thought Adoncia had found me, I had nightmares several times a night, and there was one time I couldn't even be in a dark room because it looked too familiar!" Hiccup's body suddenly began to contort. Toothless grabbed him with his paws and shouted **"It's all right, snap out of it!"**

" **Thanks Bud**." He shook his head and calmed down.

"How did you get out of that place?" Snotlout asked. He was looking at his cousin with admiration, pity, and horror. He remembered only too well his own terrifying experience in a cell, but he at least had never been harmed physically then.

"Toothless broke me out. When I didn't return he went looking for me. Being a dragon he could only venture into the town at night and couldn't go very far into it. But when he found out where I was…" He fell silent for a moment. "Well, let's just say it was only then that I realized why Night Furies are so feared and I hope I never see him like that again."

 **Authors Note: I am taking a short vacation, so there will be no updates or messages until October 25 at the earliest.**


	26. Chapter 26

**All Rights Reserved**

 **I Own Nothing**

 **This chapter did not exist until about four days ago, so if it seems a little rough, I apologize. The title is a comment on the efforts of both Hiccup and me.**

 **Chapter 26**

 **Trying to Fix a Mess**

After returning to Berk and getting over a bout of motion sickness, courtesy of the Twins, Marva went straight to the Chiefs meeting in Mead Hall and shouted that Hiccup had tried to kill her. At first nobody could really believe it but Marva was so loud in her demands for justice that Stoick was compelled to send for his son. Hiccup would have gone to Mead Hall anyway, but he had to help get the riding gear properly dismantled and stored first. The others, especially Astrid and Fishlegs, had wanted to come with him, but he had flat out refused. He did not want them to get further mixed up in this mess. Only Toothless came with him, and that was purely for moral support. When at last he entered Mead Hall he felt like a convict brought before Judges.

"Hiccup," Stoick said coldly, "Let's keep this simple. Marva says you tried to strangle her. Is that true?"

"Did she tell you everything that happened before that?"

Gort, who was looking angrier than Hiccup had ever seen him, turned sharply to his daughter. "What's he mean by that?"

"Nothing! He's just trying to dodge the issue, can't you see that?" Marva said contemptuously. Toothless was standing behind Hiccup and he now growled dangerously.

Hiccup spoke formally. "As to what I did, I don't deny it, and I already wish very much that I had not done it. I think we've all done things in anger that we deeply regret doing—" this was said with a sidelong glance at Stoick, "—but at the same time, Marva, you provoked me. I know I should have not risen to your provocation, but neither should you have acted that way in the first place," He was then compelled to explained the day's events. He had hoped to avoid telling them about Spain—he had once hoped to never have to tell anybody about that—but it was the only way they would understand why he had acted as he had, so he told them about his time in prison, in as few words as possible.

As he spoke he watched their expressions. Gort looked angry and conflicted. On the one hand, his own daughter had been attacked by someone who was supposed to be his ally. On the other, his own daughter had in many respects brought it on herself and had acted in a completely inexcusable way. Stoick at first looked ready to strangle Hiccup when he heard about the bit with the Screaming Death, but when the story was finished he looked ready to strangle Marva. And Bertha, the most neutral of the three, was downright outraged when she learned that Marva had put the others, especially her own daughter, in danger by provoking a Screaming Death, and was equally disgusted with both of them by the aftermath. But all three of them looked at least partially sympathetic when Hiccup told them about Spain.

During this time Marva interrupted constantly, often trying to make it sound like Hiccup was lying or minimizing or exaggerating some detail. Every time she went a bit too far Toothless growled loudly and she nervously fell silent.

"Well," Hiccup said when he had finished at last, "that's what happened. Marva, do you deny it?"

"Aside from you trying to kill me you got it all wrong!" She snapped.

"We'll ask the other Riders then!" Stoick growled, "They all saw it!"

"They'll share the lie with him!" Marva spat, "don't you see they're all conspiring to make me a scapegoat for their failures?"

"What failures?" Bertha asked sharply. Hiccup echoed her.

"What did they do to stop this anyway?" Gort demanded,

"They were all hoping he'd finish me off, I'll bet!" Marva shouted.

"Considering that was the point where they interfered, I highly doubt it." Hiccup said dully.

"Are you telling me that while she was tormenting you they did absolutely nothing to stop her?" Stoick shouted.

"Not exactly…" So much for not getting the others mixed up in this further.

"That's enough!" Bertha said loudly, "this kind of blaming will get us nowhere. Gort, the way I see it, this is between your tribe and Stoick's…"

"No it isn't" Hiccup said quickly, "This is between the Owl Guts and me. Gort, I know I made a big mistake and I'm really sorry about it, but Berk had nothing to do with this! Be angry at me, name my punishment and I'll do it without complaining, but for all our sakes don't take this out on the others here! We can't lose the Owl Guts help at a time like this!"

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you tried to kill me!" Marva shouted.

"The only thing I was thinking about then was that time in Spain!" Hiccup said in exasperation. "And I'm sorry, Marva, I'm really sorry I snapped like that, but at the same time, who made me snap in the first place?"

"Gort," Stoick said coldly, "I think both our children were at fault here. Perhaps everyone's been at fault. Now, we've been friends for a long time, and I especially do not want this to cause a rift now when we need you so much, so I'll leave it to you to decide what the punishment should be for this." He was still really angry with Marva, but he was also anxious to patch this up.

Gort considered. "I thought we were supposed to be allies, Stoick. Do you expect me to side with people who threaten my own child?"

Hiccup's palms began to sweat.

"Yeah Dad, tell them off for once!" Marva said encouragingly,

It was the wrong thing to say. Gort turned to look at her furiously. "And Marva: do you expect me to stand by idle while you bully our allies? I haven't heard _you_ apologizing for anything yet! After all these years I've put up with your disrespect to me, but you've gone too far today! Go to your cabin this minute! I'll decide what to do with you later."

"Now look here, dad—"

"This minute, Marva!" Gort shouted.

"And I suppose Useless here gets off scot free?" Marva shouted back.

"No he does not! But that's none of your business! You get to that cabin right now and you will stay there until I have dealt with you! That's an order from your Chief and if you disobey it again—!"

"Like you have any—"

"Marva, push my temper any further and I might just strangle you myself!" Gort roared. Marva hesitated and then stormed out shouting a string of profanities. Gort had gotten to his feet during the shouting and now he sat down wearily. "I just don't understand it. I've been able to control everything in my tribe except her and death." He turned to Hiccup, "Hiccup, I'm not happy one bit with what's happened, but I agree neither side is blameless. So, since she refuses to do this herself, I'm sorry about what happened today. Her behavior was inexcusable,"

"So was mine," Hiccup said glumly. Toothless gently nuzzled his side.

"Stoick, I'm not blind," Gort laughed humorlessly, "I know we mustn't split up our alliance now. So…" he mused a minute. "Hiccup, I will make three demands for this. We still have a lot of weapons to sharpen. You'll sharpen them until sunset—and no help from your dragon friends either."

"Agreed,"

"Secondly, when this fight is over, I claim half the booty."

Hiccup looked at the other Chiefs. Bertha looked a bit annoyed but Stoick was relieved that things were calming down. "I agree to that, and if the amount is not enough to satisfy, I can provide more loot for all parties,"

Bertha stirred. "You can?"

"Yeah," Hiccup smiled slightly. "I don't bring it up very often, but I'm rich,"

"How rich?" Bertha asked eagerly, but Stoick interrupted her "What's the third demand, Gort?"

" _Never_ let this happen again," Gort said sternly.

Hiccup nodded humbly.

"And seeing that my daughter provoked you first, here are my concessions. I agree that Marva should not ride a dragon into the fight. In fact, I'm thinking of not letting her join the fight at all. She won't like that. Oh don't worry: I'll punish her in other ways too. The decks could do with some scrubbing, among other things,"

"So we are still allies?" Stoick asked,

"Yes," Gort said dismissively, "I can't fight Drago alone and I can't in good conscience leave your tribes to his mercy either. The plan should proceed as we agreed earlier today: the day after tomorrow we sail. And my weapons had all better be sharp by then—"

Hiccup quickly left the Hall.

"Do you think we can keep this quiet?" Stoick asked, "for the sake of our alliance?"

"Knowing Marva, she's probably shouting about her side of events at anyone within earshot," groaned Gort, "I imagine the whole island will know it all within the hour,"

"And Hiccup's side will soon be told too," Bertha pointed out, "I imagine the other Riders will see to that,"

And they were right, but the reaction was not as bad as they feared, mostly because most of the Owl Guts Vikings did not like Marva. She was for many the Owl Gut's answer to Mildew. In fact, a small handful secretly wished Hiccup had squeezed Marva's neck a little longer. Snotlout, Gustav, Cami, and the Twins meantime were very vocal in Hiccup's defense, describing dramatically how he had dealt with a rampaging Screaming Death and making a sympathetic case of provocation whenever the strangling part was brought up. Fishlegs was equally vocal in defending Hiccup but less dramatic about it. As for Astrid, she had shut herself up in her room without speaking to anyone, nobody quite understood why.

And now that everyone knew about Hiccup's fits and the reason for them, it was apparent that most people were on his side rather than Marva's in this case. And when people saw Hiccup working without rest at sharpening swords and compared that to Marva screaming and throwing things against the wall in her cabin, they sympathized with the Dragon King even more. Ironically, nearly wrecking the alliance by attacking a Chief's daughter seemed to actually gain Hiccup more support.

The fact that Hiccup was sharpening weapons reminded those who saw him about the prospect of going to battle and the work that came with it. This made most of the Vikings put the day's events behind them quickly. They had more pressing matters to worry about. And in an attempt to help draw the tribes closer together and improve morale, Stoick announced he had decided to throw another dinner party that night.

Sitting with Meatlug in the Arena that late afternoon, Fishlegs could not bring himself to care about any of the politics or the reactions or the party. All he could think about was the fact that during that whole scene earlier that day he had done virtually nothing to stop it. It was like the night Hiccup had revealed himself: everyone had stood around watching and listening but for some reason nobody did anything more until something terrible had happened.

"I just can't think of an excuse, Meatlug," he said miserably, "I promised myself I would try to make amends to Hiccup, that I would try to be a stronger person, and what happens? Hiccup nearly has a breakdown thanks to Marva and then he nearly kills her and I do nothing to stop it! Nobody did! Why? I try to defend us, but I just don't know!" he slammed his fist into the ground but instantly regretted it. "OW!"

"Something the matter?" Camicazi came in from behind him. Fishlegs was suddenly rather sweaty. He knew he had vowed to be a stronger man, but that vow had been made without the consideration of beautiful women in close proximity to him. So he was suddenly about as nervous and shy as he had been when he was fifteen.

"N—no, nothing's wrong," he said. Camicazi gave him a warm smile that made him suddenly relax. "Actually, yeah, something's wrong. I just feel really ashamed of myself—again."

"With what happened, I'm guessing?"

"Why didn't anyone do anything, Cami?"

"Fish," Camicazi said grimly, "I know there's no good excuse for it, but sometimes something bad happens and all anyone can do is stand and watch. Sometimes an argument gets so personal and intense you don't know how to interfere."

"That doesn't make me feel any better,"

"I doubt anyone would feel better. But sometimes that's just the way it is."

"All right, look, I know most of us aren't really used to taking command of a situation like that—I know I'm not the type to mediate in most arguments and certainly Snotlout and the Twins aren't any better—but Astrid did nothing until Hiccup snapped. _Astrid_!"

"Yeah, I don't know what her excuse is," Cami said.

"Where is she, anyway?"

"Last I saw her she was heading home. That was shortly after we returned."

Meatlug suddenly decided that this conversation was too depressing. So she climbed into the lap of her rider and nearly flattened it with her weight.

"ARGH!" Fishlegs groaned.

"Whoa, Fish, are you okay?"

"Oh fine, just fine!" he grinned weakly, "never better!" Meatlug now began to roll around, as if expecting him to pet her. In doing so she banged him in the face with her club-like tail. "Not so fine anymore,"

Camicazi had to laugh at the sight of Meatlug in his lap, looking like a gigantic slobbery puppy eager for affection from its owner. "Do you two want to be alone or something?"

"I certainly wouldn't mind being alone with _you_ , my dear lovely as a butterfly Camicazi," Snotlout now showed up, looking his usual self-inflated self. "Permit me to offer you this invitation to dinner tonight! I hear the meat is going to be exceptionally tender!"

"I'll bet you don't even know what half of those big words actually mean," Fishlegs mumbled.

"Well Snotlout, I would _love_ to share this exceptionally tender meat with you tonight…" Cami replied with a tone to match his. She drew near to him as she spoke. Then she pulled away. "Except I'm a vegetarian,"

"What? Since when?"

"Since about two minutes ago. It's my latest life-changing decision." She abruptly ran off, light on her feet as a deer, before anyone could react to this.

"Hmm. It would seem the future Mrs. Lout is playing hard to get," Snotlout mused. He took a step forward but the movement suddenly made his pants start slipping.

"What the—what happened to my—THAT DIRTY LITTLE THIEF! CAMICAZI YOU GIVE ME BACK MY BELT!" Snotlout roared as he tried to keep his pants up and run at the same time. He tripped within a minute.

Fishlegs laughed as well as he could with Meatlug on top of him. He reached for his pocket to find his information card on Gronkles in the hopes he could figure out how to coax Meatlug to get off of him. But his pockets were somehow all empty.

"But I could've sworn I—CAMICAZI!" Meatlug, misunderstanding the situation, gave him a huge slobbery lick on the face.

Well out of earshot, in the Chief's cabin on the Bog Burglar Flagship, Camicazi put her latest spoils of war into a chest. "It's been a good haul today! And just wait until that dinner's over!"

Not everyone was in a cabin and happy. Marva had finally stopped shouting due to a very sore throat. Her father had not come to see her yet but she did not care about that. She had made up her mind. There was only one person in the world whom she respected, so what was she wasting her time here for? She knew where he was now and even better she knew what the plans of his enemies were. That would make an excellent gift for him. The only problem would be getting to him. She had heard during a lull in her shouting that there was a dinner that night. What better time to slip away than when everyone was busy stuffing themselves and gossiping? Oh yes, she was getting out of here tonight.

Toothless glanced up at the sky.

" **Not long before my human will be done and we can have some fun**!" Toothless grinned with a mischievous glint in his eyes. " **He's been too depressed today. I'll cheer him up**!" He approached a rain barrel that was nearly full to the brim. " **Hope this works** ,"

Hiccup put down the last sword into the sharpened pile. Sunset had arrived and so had Gort.

"Very impressive job, lad," Gort remarked, "I might just have to extend your sentence permanently,"

"I'd love to help, Gort, but I don't think Stoick would approve it being permanent," Hiccup replied with a slight smile. They made their way off the ship Hiccup had set up shop on and onto the docks.

"True," Gort sighed, "now what am I going to do with Marva?"

"Sir, I know you'll hate to hear this, but she idolizes Drago Bludvist. I think she should be confined somewhere until the war is over or she might betray us."

"And I hate to say it but I think you're right. I'll see to it," he looked about. A Chief was almost never allowed to be outside without his tribesmen gathering around him and this was no exception. "So where's your Night Fury? For that matter, where are any of the dragons?"

"They went off for some more practice flights about an hour ago. Astrid's directing them." He remembered how serious and withdrawn she had appeared when she had suggested it. "Toothless is—right in front of me,"

Toothless had his cheeks puffed out, as if he was holding his breath. He got right in front of Hiccup and spewed water right into his face.

"—waiting to ambush me!" Hiccup shouted, his face and hair soaking wet.

" **Surprise**!" Toothless sniggered.

" **You get over here you dirty little lizard**!" Hiccup lunged for the dragon and grabbed his head playfully, " **I'll teach you to mess with me like that!** "

" **You don't have to! I already know**!" Toothless responded by tossing Hiccup onto the ground. Then he raised an arm and bonked him on the head. The crowd roared with laughter and so did Hiccup—until he swatted Toothless in the face. A small wrestling match now began, with Hiccup getting the worst of it. The crowd started cheering, with most of them rooting for the dragon after he looked at his audience with his enormous and cute green eyes. Then he slammed his head onto Hiccup's body and pinned him to the ground.

" **Do you surrender**?"

" **This is so not fair! You're like ten times my weight**!" Hiccup shouted.

" **Don't change the subject! The advantage is clearly mine! Surrender and I might spare your other leg**!"

" **Surrender or I'll make you take a bath**!"

" **And just how are you going to do that?** " Toothless grinned. " **I'm like ten times your weight**!"

" **I'll put you to sleep with dragon nip and I'll get others to help me drag you to the bathhouse!** "

" **HOLY SHEEP**!" Toothless leapt off his human.

"You see?" Hiccup called to the crowd. "Where physical strength fails words will succeed!"

" **And then physical strength will come back for the final blow**!" Toothless said and he tripped Hiccup with his tail. The crowd went wild with laughter again.

Hiccup picked himself up slowly. "All right, all right, you win,"

" **Naturally** ,"

Hiccup looked around at the crowd. "You see, everybody? The Unholy Offspring of Lightning and Death and the so-called "Dragon King", wrestling around like a kid playing with a dog—"

" **And you're obviously the dog,** "

"Compare that with both of us trying to kill the other, and which would you prefer? You can all guess my answer," he turned around, "come on, Bud, let's go flying. See where the others have gone."

" **Fine with me, but I left my flight stuff in the arena** ,"

Toothless had only diverted his human's depression, not cured it, but still, sometimes a momentary release makes it more bearable.

As they moved to the arena Stoick joined them.

"So," he said at last, "you've been quite busy today, haven't you? Training riders, nearly getting killed with a Screaming Death, nearly destroying our alliance, and now sharpening a few hundred weapons,"

"Yes, well, idle hands are the devils tools, so they say," Hiccup replied, his relieved mood fading rapidly into something bitter.

"Not this time by the sound of it," Stoick said sternly,

Hiccup sighed. "Do you think I'm proud of everything I've done? But honestly, out of all those charges you've brought up, I'm only guilty of the third one, I think. And even in that case I was not the sole aggressor,"

"No, you weren't," Stoick said softly. "But if you'd restrained yourself you wouldn't have been the aggressor at all,"

Hiccup bit back his first retort and said instead "So it's my fault all that stuff happened? As always?"

"Son—"

"You asked me to come back so we can start again, but honestly I'm getting the sense nothing has really changed except the fact that there's a few winged reptiles roaming freely! What was that you told me? 'Every time I step outside disaster happens.' I get the feeling you're going to say it again. And lately I've been starting to wonder if it's true."

"I didn't mean to imply that, Son. I just meant you shouldn't have reacted the way you did."

"So if you punch Mildew for insulting Mom it's fine but when I throttle Marva—oh what am I saying, I know I shouldn't have reacted that way, I don't need you to remind me of that, but even so—" he looked up at the sky. "Gods, why can't this day just end already?"

Stoick suddenly laughed. "I often ask that meself. After a hard day of being a Chief where I try my best and yet nobody's happy with the results and all the problems I had to deal are still present, I just want it to end and go to bed. Speaking of which, I do have to thank you for one thing." He grinned, "After you disappeared we stopped having those night raids, so it's thanks to you I've slept well a lot during the past few years."

"Glad to be of service," Hiccup said dryly, "I've mostly slept well too. Sleeping next to a dragon is remarkably comforting."

"I can believe it." Stoick had meant to lighten the mood but now he chose to darken it with another question. "If you don't mind my asking, why didn't you tell me about Spain?"

"I didn't want anyone to know about it. If I'd gotten my way I'd have gone to my grave with nobody but Toothless knowing about it." He said heavily.

"I see," Stoick sighed, "Hiccup, if I'd know how Marva was going to behave—"

"We all should have expected it. I thought maybe if I got her up there on a dragon she might—it worked on nearly everyone else, including you,"

"Still, what was she _thinking_ , trying to threaten a Screaming Death? And I must say, from what I've heard, well, you acted a bit more— _rashly_ than I would have liked, but still, you handled the situation pretty well,"

"Until the aftermath, yes I know,"

They reached the arena and Hiccup began putting the saddle on Toothless. As he did the other Dragon Riders came in for a landing. Everybody landed just fine except the Twins; Barf n' Belch flopped over and sent them rolling over the ground. Naturally they thought it was the best landing ever.

"How'd the training go?" Hiccup asked uncertainly,

"Fine," Astrid said evasively. She avoided his gaze, but he could not decide why exactly.

"Except for Gustav and Snotlout trying to impress Astrid in mid-air," Fishlegs added quietly. "You might wanna make them flight suits in case it happens again,"

"You know I always hoped my final years as Chief would be quiet and peaceful," Stoick said loudly, for the Twins were wrestling around again.

"Well, I'm going out for a flight," Hiccup announced, "I don't know when I'll be back, don't wait up for me, I'm not used to it and it might be a long wait,"

"Hiccup," Fishlegs said at once, "I want to talk to you—"

"Not now, Fishlegs,"

"But I—"

"Not now," Hiccup repeated. His gaze was icy. "I need to clear my head,"

"And I need to clear mine too," Fishlegs replied, "I feel like I let you down earlier today, that I was just doing what I always did when we were younger, sitting and watching while you got bullied and doing nothing about it, and I want to apologize and know what I can do to make it right!" He took a deep breath, "How can I make this right?"

"That goes the same for me," Snotlout abruptly said.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Did you put on a different belt?" Camicazi giggled. He looked around and saw everybody was now looking at him with the same expressions. "All right, guys, if you want to know what can be done to make this right: learn from it and never bring it up again."

Astrid watched them fly away with a pained expression on her face. Out of all the others she had probably been the most upset by what had happened. So ashamed in fact she at first could not bring herself to face Hiccup. She had only taken the Riders out flying because she had needed a distraction or she might have gone crazy. And when they had landed she had badly wanted to apologize and talk to him—except she wanted to do it with nobody else around. And she promised herself she would do just that when he returned.


	27. Chapter 27

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Please Don't Sue Me!**

 **Since I was absent for a little while and had to delay posting, I thought my readers deserved two chapters today.**

 **Chapter 27**

 **The Stolen Journal**

The dinner party was going on in the Village, but Hiccup had no interest in being there. Instead he and Toothless flew to the cove off of Raven Point, the place where they had become friends. They wrestled around a little bit before Hiccup sat down on a rock and fell into deep thought, becoming oblivious to everything around him.

One thing that weighed heavily on his mind was what had happened earlier that day. He was not proud of nearly killing Marva. Part of him tried to assure himself that he would never have gone that far, but the other part wondered if that was true. The fact that he was uncertain of this frightened him. What was he turning into if he let himself behave like that? Yes, Marva had been the one to get him that way but that did not justify himself. He should have known better and just ignored her.

"I'm supposed to stand for peace and unity—and what do I do? I try to murder someone!" He mumbled to himself shamefully. "And everybody thinks I should be the next chief of Berk. Ha!"

Doing his punishment with sharpening the swords that afternoon had awakened another reminder in him. In less than two days they would set out for Berserk, or wherever Drago and his army would be. Within a week there would almost certainly be a battle. Most likely a lot of people and dragons would die in it. And even if they won or lost, the war might still go on. He wanted a single titanic battle to end this once and for all, but he was all too aware those did not always happen. He thought of Rome and Hannibal. Even after destroying the Romans at Cannae, a new army was raised and Hannibal was eventually forced to give up his invasion. What if that happened now? And did his side represent the Carthaginians or the Romans? The side that lost the battle but won the war after horrible cost or the side that brilliantly won the battle yet lost everything in the end? Which was it?

It all came back to Drago, he thought and hoped. He hoped that without Drago the enemy would just fall apart, like Brutus and Cassius had hoped about Julius Caesar. And that was a rotten example, he reminded himself, because Mark Antony and Octavius had taken up the fight and fought a civil war with them for another three years—and then turned on each other, resulting in further wars. Still, he did hope that if they could just get rid of Drago, the enemy alliance would fall apart and give up.

But would that even mean peace?

It was unlikely, knowing human nature. Dagur and Alvin would probably come for revenge if they survived. He suspected deep down real peace was virtually impossible. Certainly he could not expect it to occur worldwide. Still, he wanted there to be _some_ peace in this corner of the world. And that meant first at least one battle. And that battle, win or lose, would be on him. He knew it was also Drago's fault, but that did not excuse his own actions. He had come back and sided with Dragons, thereby siding against Drago, he had gotten other people involved with this, and now he had compelled them to join him against his enemy. In his mind, that meant every death was on him.

Astrid had asked him why he did not want to be Chief. Aside from reluctance to lead the place of his childhood torment and the unworthiness he now felt, the true reason was he did not want this: the fact that the cause of so much death and pain and misery was ultimately him. That was a responsibility he hated and yet for a Chief it would be unavoidable. Already when he looked at people he found himself wondering if he was looking at them for the last time. Who would want to be a leader when they had to live with such a burden?

And yet he knew somebody had to do it. He had thought of this before many times. Somebody had to lead or else things would be even worse. Drago would not just go away. If Hiccup did nothing, the deaths would still be on him, and probably many more. How ironic. He was leading people to their deaths so that not all of them would die.

"Hiccup, would you say something, please?"

Hiccup jumped. He had been thinking so deeply he had not noticed Astrid had found him.

"I've been looking for you since it got dark." She said softly, "Evidently Stormfly thought you might be here," she looked around but it was too dark to make much out now. "Isn't this where we all thought you'd been killed by Toothless?"

"Yeah, but it's also where we became friends. It's not where we first met, but I don't know if I could find that particular place in the dark,"

"So," Astrid sat down next to him, looking a bit uncertain, "Are you going to that party sometime?"

"I've had enough of parties I think, actually. The only good thing about the last one was the pepper pie."

Astrid laughed but it did not match her expression. "I wonder if the Twins did that on purpose."

They sat for a few minutes and looked at the stars that were starting to appear.

"Hiccup?" Astrid suddenly said.

"Hmm?"

"Look, about what happened earlier with Marva, I'm really sorry, I—"

"Astrid, I told you to forget it, I don't need to hear an apology about that—"

"Maybe you don't need to hear me say it but I do," she said, positioning herself so that she was directly in front of him and making eye contact. "I should have done something to stop her. I have no idea why I didn't, if I had you never would have snapped like that—and I don't ever want to see you like that again, all right, because you scared me so much, I didn't know you, I thought I—"

"Can we just forget about it?" Hiccup interrupted irritably, "I don't want to talk about it, all right? I hate remembering those days, I hate everything that has to do with them, I hate the fact that when I scratch my back I can feel the scars perfectly, and I would like more than anything else than for those days and anything connected to them to never be mentioned again!" He suddenly was horrified. "Oh Gods, Astrid, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you like that, it's just—"

"I get it," Astrid said quietly. "I know...well, sort of, anyway. Something terrible happened to you that you don't like people bringing up. I was that way when Uncle Finn was killed and everyone was mocking his cowardice. The slightest joke set me off—and you know how I can be when I lose my temper."

"Yes, I believe I do. You know, I used to enjoy watching you punch Snotlout or throw him into a wall and the like…after all those times when he'd beat me up, since I couldn't get even with him myself, I liked to think you were secretly avenging me."

Astrid smiled sadly. "I wasn't, of course."

"No, but I still found some comfort in that." Hiccup shook his head. "I had to take all the comfort I could in those days."

"Still do, by the sound of it,"

"Well, don't we all?" As he spoke he became aware that once again there was a beautiful woman sitting so close to him and looking into his eyes. As with all those times before his heart began to pound and his stomach had butterflies in it. And she slowly became aware of how close she was to him. It was as if both of them knew what should happen next but both were uncertain who should make the move first.

"Astrid?" He whispered,

"Yes?" She whispered back,

Suddenly Hiccup's nerve failed him. He had been thinking too much of Adoncia earlier and those memories came back to him. He jumped to his feet and began to step away. Then he abruptly changed his mind and turned back to her. He had had enough of that Adoncia and those memories. He had been tormented by them long enough.

Astrid had gotten to her feet too. "Hiccup, what are you doing?"

"Just this," he pulled her towards him and kissed her on the lips. Astrid responded at once by wrapping her arms around him and extending the kiss. For those moments nothing else mattered to either of them. The pains of the past, the uncertainty of the future, it was all forgotten. Only the present, standing in the cool night air locked in each other's arms and sharing a deep and tender kiss, mattered in the slightest to them.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," Hiccup said hoarsely when they finally parted.

"I think I do, actually," Astrid said, "I've been wanting you to for a while,"

"You—I thought you never—what I mean is—"

"Hiccup, don't start sentences you don't know how to finish,"

"Sorry," he blushed again with embarrassment.

She laughed. "You're rather cute when you're blushing, you know that?"

"And you're very beautiful when you're laughing," He wanted to say more on the subject but he could not say anything when her lips were on his again.

Toothless and Stormfly watched with approval.

" **Two fish that they'll mate within a week**?" Toothless whispered.

" **Hmm? Oh yeah, um, sure,"** Stormfly was not thinking of wagering. She was thinking of her own mate. It had been a while since his death but his absence was still a pain she often felt.

"You know," Astrid said when they parted again, "I could get used to this,"

"Me too," Hiccup gently put his hand on her cheek. Astrid's breath hitched up as he did so and her mouth opened slightly.

Suddenly Toothless sneezed, making them all jump.

"Way to ruin the mood, you overgrown salamander!" Hiccup shouted.

" **Sorry** ," Toothless chuckled.

Astrid laughed and looking happier than she had all day. "Come on, what do you say we go to that party? We can get some food if nothing else."

"I already ate."

She grabbed his arm. "Then you can eat some more, because moping around like this is not good for anyone! Now march!"

Hiccup made a half hearted attempt to salute, "Yes sir!"

"Ugh, don't call me sir,"

"All right—yes, milady,"

"That's better,"

"How is it Toothless is not a Beta anymore?" Astrid suddenly asked as they walked. They could have flown but it was only a short distance and neither of them did not want to let go of the other.

It took Hiccup a moment to consider the answer and before he spoke he made certain they were alone.

"Grimm took the position from him. He challenged him when we returned to the Sanctuary after Berserk—with my approval. See, he feared Drago might use Toothless to control our dragons. So we thought we'd fool him. Make Grimm the real Beta and not let Drago know about it."

"But I thought dragons have to kill each other for that position? That's what you said!"

"No, I said they fight for it. They don't _have_ to kill each other, just fight until one yields. Granted, a lot of these fights do end up being to the death."

"Something else about that Beta stuff confuses me. You said it requires eye contact to first gain control of a dragon's mind. Does that mean that Grimm has to make eye contact with every dragon at the Sanctuary? How does that work exactly?"

"No, he does not. Once he is the Beta he can control the mind of any dragon that Toothless had control over when he was the Beta. It's like when you become a king or a Chief: once you do you automatically have control over everything and everyone your predecessor did. But if the dragon has _never_ been under the mind control of a certain Beta, they will never fall under that Beta's control unless they make eye contact and the Beta works its power on them. I'm not entirely sure why it's that way. It's like colds and illnesses: nobody really knows why they exist, yet for some reason they do.

"So anyhow, Grimm promised he'd let Toothless be Beta again once this was over—though I'm not so sure if that'll work. Maybe it would be better if Grimm stayed in charge at the Sanctuary, especially if we're going to be busy here." He shrugged, "well, like most things right now, it'll all depend on how this little war of ours turns out."

"We'll win," Astrid assured him, "I promise you we can win."

"Can you promise me you'll take care of yourself?"

She punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't I always? What about you? You're the one who's been jumping off dragons and wielding flaming swords and getting beaten up. Will you promise me _you'll_ care of yourself?"

Hiccup smiled. "All right,"

"Good,"

Mead Hall could not accommodate so many people, so most just grabbed food and drink and went outside to find their friends. Still, the place was packed. Hiccup still declined having food and he also declined to go close to Mead Hall. So he went over to a tree some distance from everyone. Astrid went in, grabbed the Riders, and brought them out so they could join him.

Fishlegs began rambling about what he had discovered about Meatlug that afternoon. Snotlout was enraged and flattered that Cami had stolen his knife and shoes. Tuffnut and Ruffnut were discussing how best to blow up Drago's army. Astrid herself was watching Hiccup. Gustav was not present, as he was with his mother somewhere. The Dragons gathered in a circle around them and gulped down their fish.

Hiccup felt a tap on his shoulder. A tap from a clawed finger. He turned around and saw a dark blue dragon behind him. " **Gerd! Good to see you! What news**?"

Fishlegs nudged Astrid. "Astrid, that's a Skinkhard! Speed 5, Firepower 6, with a shot limit of 8, and they can lose limbs and grow new ones!"

"Pff. Yeah right." Snotlout snorted.

"Awesome!" the Twins grinned.

This information was of little interest to Astrid or Camicazi. For the later, she was swiping some of Snotlout's food as his head was turned the other way. For the former, she was more interested in trying to figure out what the dragon was saying to Hiccup. He was listening very intently and looked a bit perplexed. It was rather maddening to her that she could not speak Dragonese at a time like this and he could.

At length he sent the dragon away and turned to the group.

"What's going on?" Astrid asked anxiously. "Is something wrong?"

Hiccup looked concerned. "I don't know. Gerd was out scouting over Berserk Island, and saw something he can't really explain or describe to me. I'm going to have a look for myself."

"Then we're coming with you." Astrid said, and the others nodded vigorously.

To their relief, Hiccup made no attempt to talk them out of it. On the contrary, he looked pleased.

"Should we get Gustav?"

All the Berkian riders groaned.

"Why not? He's got a dragon, and if he's willing to come, who are we to say no?"

"You haven't lived around him as long as we have," Snotlout said wearily.

"I could just wait until you're all asleep and go alone," Hiccup said airily.

Astrid grabbed him. "Absolutely not. We'll bring Gustav if he wants to come but we are all going or no one is going. Got that?"

Once they found him they found that Gustav was absolutely delighted to come, especially if Astrid was coming. Little did he know she was already as good as taken.

Hiccup said as they saddled up, "All right, I told Stoick and Bertha we're going on a scouting and training mission and we'll back by mid-morning at the latest—but we're just going to have a look! We probably won't even get near any enemies. And we don't wanna give away what we're capable of until it really counts, so no starting any fights, ok?"

"And what if we get caught or they start a fight?" Gustav asked excitedly.

Hiccup gave him a strange look. "If that happens then we're starting the war a few days early."

"He's always so commanding—a perfect mountain of command—and his face is so much handsomer compared to everyone else's! Me likey!" Everyone, especially Hiccup and Astrid, just starred at Ruffnut.

The flight was long, dark, and uneventful. Perhaps it was the gloomy darkness or the fact that they were on a serious mission, but nobody was in much mood for conversation. The stars were faint and offered little interest or inspiration. Clouds were rolling in here and there, like large black drapes covering the sky. It was so dark now that Toothless and his rider, who were in the lead along with the Skinkhard, were almost invisible to Fishlegs, who was bringing up the rear.

It was very late at night when they landed on a sea stack, about a league away from Berserk Island. The beacons around the island's coastline were little more than orange dots at such distance.

"We'll let the dragons rest a minute before we get any closer," Hiccup said as they dismounted.

"What about us?" Snotlout groaned as he stretched, "I haven't sat down that much in years!"

"Me neither," Tuffnut said.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Hiccup alone did not seem sore from the trip. Even Astrid was a bit stiff, though she tried to hide it.

"So, Hiccup, what exactly are we looking for?" Camicazi asked.

"Gerd says it looked like a moving island," He pulled out his telescope and looked around. "Hmm,"

"What do you see?" Fishlegs asked anxiously.

"Nothing out of the ordinary,"

"This place is giving me the shivers," Snotlout whispered to Tuffnut.

"You're probably just cold," Astrid said dismissively.

"If you're cold, Astrid, I could help you warm up!"

"Gustav, do you see the ocean way down there? One more word out of you and you'll be in it."

Hiccup suddenly uttered a cry of surprise. " **Gerd, is that it**?" The Skinkhard nodded vigorously. "What in the name of Thor _is_ that thing?"

Fishlegs grabbed the telescope and took a look. "I don't see anything!"

Astrid took it from him. "Neither do I,"

Hiccup took it back. "You're both looking in the wrong spot. Here, let's mount up. We'll head over that way and you'll see it—but for heaven's sakes, don't let them see you!"

Like owls flying noiselessly over a forest they swooped through the night sky and drew closer to Berserk. In the darkness the nearby islands just looked like a large black shapeless masses. The only sound was the cold ocean breaking against the rocky cliffs and beaches. Although they were only scouting, they all began to feel the thrill of the hunt and the delights and tensions in secrecy and stealth. They were sneaking up on the enemy and the enemy did not know it.

Then suddenly Toothless gave the command to stop and the dragons began hovering. The King trained his telescope and looked again.

"It's right over there," he whispered to Astrid, who was the closest, "pass it along to the others. Now what the heck is that thing?"

What indeed, everyone was asking. Gerd's description of a floating island seemed applicable. It was a ship, but a ship such as they had never seen before. It was solid black and at least 10 times the length of any Viking ship, several times the width, and its hull was considerably taller. It had no sails on it, nor masts or oars. The upper deck had several rows of catapults and giant crossbows along the edge. At the stern end the riders could faintly make out a massive rudder and propeller.

The sight of this ship sent a wave of fear and helplessness through the hearts of most of the riders. If Drago had this, what else did he have? Who knew what this monster of a ship was capable of? How did he build such a thing? Were there any weak points or were they doomed to defeat now? Were there more weapons hidden on board?

Astrid alone did not seem intimidated. Impressed but not intimidated. She looked at Hiccup, hoping that as one of the more technical minded riders, he might have spotted something that could reassure everyone they stood a chance against that ship. To her complete astonishment, Hiccup did not look awed or horrified by what he saw, or even inquisitive or calculating. He looked outraged. So outraged he could hardly speak at first.

"Why those dirty—those—that—that's _my_ ship! _I_ designed that vessel! They stole my idea! Those dirty, no good lowlife scumbags, they stole my plans!"

Everyone looked at him incredulously. " _You_ designed that thing?" Cami exclaimed. Everyone at once hissed at her to speak softer.

"Yes I did! That's my design and they stole it! That's downright cheating! That was _my_ invention! Those bilge rats and sons of half trolls!" Now _he_ got hissed at to speak softer. He was more indignant than they had ever seen him.

Back on the sea stack Hiccup sketched on the ground with a charcoal pencil.

"It was a few months before I met Toothless. I was cooking vegetables for my dinner one night. I took the lid off the pot to check on them and hot steam rose into my face. At that instant an idea struck me: if I could produce steam on a larger scale, contain it, and send it in a chosen direction, it might be powerful enough to move something. In fact, the idea was similar to a waterwheel or a windmill, only instead of wind or running water, I thought of using steam. Next thing I knew I had ideas for an engine sketched out.

"The idea behind a steam engine is actually very old. I've learned since then that the Greeks designed such things around a thousand years ago, though they found little practical use for them. After a little thinking I thought if I could build a device large enough it could power a mill, or the forge, or even a ship. My plan, as I recall, was like this," he pointed to the sketch as he spoke. "A large cauldron of boiling water would go here. Metal pipes would carry the steam to the wheels here with enough force to turn them. Those wheels would be connected to these rods here and turn those, and those rods would then turn these massive wheels on the outside of the ship. The large wheels would propel it through the water, much faster and more reliably than any ship in existence! But then a problem arose: how could a ship carry such a heavy load? And even worse, what if the ship caught fire from its own engine? The solution was quite simple: it would not be made of wood. Having worked as a smith, I decided iron would be suitable."

"But iron can't float!" Snotlout exclaimed.

"As that ship out there is made of iron, your statement lacks all credibility." Snotlout looked confused and Hiccup sighed. "It can float, Snotlout,"

Fishlegs examined the sketch thoughtfully. "But Hiccup, for an engine to push a ship like that, you'd need a huge amount of steam—"

"Yes, as soon as I had the sketch done I realized how impractical it was," Hiccup said hastily, "it would have to be a very large engine to move a ship made of iron, and for the ship of iron to hold such an engine, it would have to be huge. It was clear from the first that Gobber's forge was way too small to produce that much iron. If the two of us worked every day for 12 hours I doubt we'd have enough metal after 10 years! And then there was the question, what was going to fuel the fire to keep the water boiling? Wood was obvious, but I figured it would take an entire forest to fuel it for a prolonged period."

"Couldn't you use a dragon?" Ruffnut asked. "Like a Nightmare or something?"

"Yeah, you used Fireworms in your forge at the Sanctuary!" Astrid pointed out.

"Yes, but this was before I met Toothless. I had yet to change my outlook on things at the time. Using Dragons for anything but target practice was out of the question back then."

Fishlegs nodded. "I can see your points. It's a good idea in theory, but in practical terms…"

"In practical terms, I had no source of power or means of building the ship and even if I had, at the time I was still the Village Embarrassment and all of my suggestions were being ignored. So I closed my journal and left it at that—and then found I'd focused so much on the designs I'd burnt my dinner!"

"So how did _he_ get a hold of it?" Astrid asked after they stopped laughing.

"Maybe he came up with it on his own?" Snotlout suggested, "Hiccup did say that his ideas has been used in other places,"

"That was only the engine, not the use for it. Besides, that thing out there is _too_ much like my design." Hiccup replied. He was looking very thoughtful.

"And what's he going to use it for?" Asked Camicazi. "I mean, I agree it looks intimidating, but looks don't win battles!"

Hiccup shrugged, "It's big enough to transport an entire army, I imagine. Or it could house a good sized flock of dragons. And it's not undefended. Did you see those catapults? And I imagine that hull is nearly impregnable against any weapons we have. I certainly wouldn't trust a fleet of Viking longboats against it. With a vessel like that under his command Drago could dominate the ocean."

" **And he's probably going to use it to gain dominance over the air, which will make gaining dominance over land a whole lot easier,"** Toothless said nervously. " **How on earth did we not know about this**?"

"And how did he build that thing if, as you said, it was impossible to?" Ruffnut demanded.

"He did not say 'impossible.' He only implied that it was impractical for a small place like Berk." Fishlegs said.

Hiccup nodded. "But it would certainly be feasible if you've got the money, time, and resources. I know Drago's got the money, and with money he's got resources, and as for time…" he fell into deep thought.

Fishlegs said "I suppose if he ordered small sections of it from various blacksmith stalls and then assembled them…though I can't see how he kept it a secret."

Astrid looked at Hiccup. She could almost see the gears in his mind moving as he tried to find the solution. His eyes widened. "That might make sense…"

"What?"

"When I was…in Spain, you know when I was arrested, I was searched and my things were taken from me—including the journal I was using at the time. If memory serves, that was the journal with my design in it. When Toothless broke me out, we did not retrieve the things that had been confiscated…he didn't know about them and I was in no condition to remember. So Adoncia would have wound up with the journal, and she could easily have shown it to Drago. That would also explain how she was able to find her way here, now that I think about it. That journal was the one I was recording my first observations of Toothless in." This realization left him looking even more thoughtful.

"So," Snotlout said, "to sum it up, a sex crazed lady took a journal you left behind, showed it to a monster who then used a sketch to build the most powerful ship in the world, and we've got nothing that can defeat it!"

"Isn't it awesome?" Tuffnut grinned, "Now how can we get our hands on that toy?"

"We're not going to," Astrid snapped, "we're going right back to Berk to let the Chiefs know about this."

"And what can _they_ do about it?" Camicazi demanded. "Let's fly in and destroy it right now!"

"I agree!" Gustav said cheerfully, "So it's big, so what? I'll bet they can't do much with it, and I'll bet it's really slow! Come on, let's go in and blow it up!"

"Um—how?" Fishlegs asked nervously. All eyes naturally turned to Hiccup, who naturally turned to Toothless.

" **Do you think your guy's firepower could penetrate that hull, Bud**?"

" **Maybe, if we had a lot more of it. But with only eight dragons…** "

" **Good point.** "

"I say we turn back and report to Stoick at once," Astrid repeated. "We can discuss a way to destroy that thing while we're flying."

"First, can we get some sleep?" Snotlout yawned.

Hiccup felt that the sea stack was too close to enemy territory for comfort and suggested they head back a ways before going to sleep. He then announced that he wanted to take a closer look at the iron ship and would meet up with the others later. This led to a great deal of bickering, as everyone else was completely against the idea of Hiccup going out there alone, while Hiccup insisted he was just going to take a closer look and saw no need to get anyone else involved, especially as no one else blended into the night as well as he and Toothless. Finally he asked Fishlegs to come along with him. Astrid, who looked a bit hurt that he had not asked her, told them both they had better rejoin them before daybreak or else she'd come looking for them and when she found them—well, she left what she would do up to their imaginations.

With Fishlegs hovering a little ways off watching him the Dragon King carefully guided Toothless closer to the massive ship. It was certainly formidable, he noted, and yet for all its imposing size and impressive armory, he perceived a few weaknesses based on what he saw. He decided the ship's own giant size made it an easy target, and concentrated fire might manage to penetrate it. The catapults and crossbows would make getting close tricky, but he deduced there was bound to be a weak spot, a place close to the ship where the projectiles could not reach. Most of all, he doubted there were any weapons underwater, so if he sent every Scauldron he knew to attack the hull, it was just possible they could put a hole in it and Drago would be helpless to do anything. Granted, Drago probably expected such a move, but if all of these factors were used together, it was just possible this ship could be sunk, and with it would go all of Drago's hopes and efforts—assuming he did not have more, which Hiccup doubted. So as he observed he began to feel a little better about it.

What bothered him more was why had they not heard about this? They had been watching Drago Bludvist for years now, and had heard absolutely nothing. _How_ could that have happened? Despite his efforts to come up with an explanation, he was drawing a blank here. He would just have to ask Drago about the next time they met. That and several other topics, he reminded himself. At least two other questions were digging into his mind and he wanted answers to them.

" **Well, we've seen enough, I guess. Let's head back Bud, before Astrid comes and kills us for taking too long**."

He waved an arm at Fishlegs and they flew above the dark clouds so they would not be seen from below. The King really liked it when he was up this high. He often felt he could just slip off Toothless and start walking on the cloud forms; they looked like giant blankets of cotton rolled out over the sky. Now, of course, he knew better than to try walking on them.

Meatlug was allowed to take the lead, while the Night Fury kept a little ways back. Toothless was enjoying himself too, being up there. He liked swatting cloud wisps with his tail. After one such swat he looked back to see what shape the wisp was now and saw a strange shape moving through the cloud below them, like the top of a mole tunnel rising out of the earth. The shape began to rise further out of the clouds and Toothless realized with a jolt it was a person.

Hiccup had noticed the person too and with a groan he said "Oh come on, Astrid, there was no need to—" But the person was clearly not Astrid. Their visitor looked rather like Hiccup; dressed in black with a hood and mask covering their face and head. They rose further out of the clouds and now the two could see the dragon that was carrying their visitor. It was a long slender dragon with silvery metallic scales.

" **Razorwhip** ," Toothless whispered to Hiccup.

" **Wait for it** ," Hiccup whispered back. He had a very good idea of who was on the dragon's back now. " **Dive**!"

Fishlegs turned his head and saw his friend shoot down into the clouds. Another rider quickly went in after them.

"What the—" He had had no idea they were being followed. He looked around frantically but he was alone.

Instead of going further, Hiccup and Toothless stayed hidden in the clouds, while their pursuers went below them. Hiccup and Toothless at once turned around and went up to where they had been a minute ago.

"What was that?" Fishlegs shouted.

" _That_ was too easy," The King said darkly, " **So what's she going to do now**?" He changed the tailfin position and they went higher up. All at once their pursuers burst through the clouds and went after them. The Night Fury took a sharp turn to the right, then to the left, then right again. The Razorwhip followed each time. Toothless abruptly went into a nose dive, Meatlug right behind him. The Razorwhip followed them.

Toothless suddenly pulled up and went back into the clouds. Meatlug was slower in doing so and the Razorwhip caught up with her. It swung its tail and hit Fishlegs in the stomach, sending him flying into the ocean. While Meatlug rushed off to rescue her rider the Razorwhip shot towards the clouds and waited for the Night Fury to reappear.

Being in the middle of a cloud was not a good hiding spot, Toothless decided. Sure, the Razorwhip could not see him, but neither could he see the Razorwhip, nor could he see Meatlug anywhere.

" **You know, Bud** ," Hiccup whispered, " **She'd make a good hostage** ,"

" **All right** ," Toothless said grimly.

He waited a few more moments and charged out. The Razorwhip was a few hundred meters off and instantly went after them. Toothless shot upwards again and went into another nosedive with his pursuer's right behind him.

Instead of stopping in the cloud cover Toothless kept going until the black ocean was right beneath them. The Razorwhip had pulled up, clearly waiting for them to do the same before they hit the water. Toothless refused to oblige it and instead went headlong into the sea with such speed that Hiccup was nearly thrown off of him.

The Razorwhip circled around waiting. There was no sign of them.

"Come on," the Rider whispered, "you can't hold your breath for that long; you've got to come up,"

And they did. Right below her! Toothless barreled into the Razorwhip with all the speed he could manage. The King than seized the rider's arm and pulled her towards him. A mid-air brawl began, dragon verses dragon, human verses human, and the only thing keeping most of them up in the air was Toothless's furious wing beats.

The King threw a fierce punch into the Rider's face while she kicked him savagely in the stomach. The Razorwhip swung its barbed tail and lashed Toothless in the leg. Toothless responded with a plasma blast that would have blown most dragons to pieces, but the Razorwhip's armor was too strong. It's Rider than whipped out a metal rod and struck the King in the back. He suddenly thought back to those times in the cells and began shaking again.

" **No**!" Toothless shouted. **"Hiccup, snap out of it, quick**!" His rider did, but the brief distraction was enough for the Razorwhip to slice its spiked tail right through Toothless's tail fin. Lacking the means to stay air born Toothless and his rider plummeted towards the sea.

" **Hiccup, do something**!" Toothless screamed.

"Hold on, Bud!" Hiccup shouted, "I just need to—"

Whatever he needed to do he never got to do it. The Razorwhip swooped in and seized him in its talons.

"Toothless!"

" **Hiccup**!" Toothless shrieked as he landed in the ocean.

The Rider patted the Razorwhip's neck. "We'll come back for him later. Let's go." They flew away, with Hiccup firmly in the dragon's claws. He grabbed his gauntlet and shot flames up at the Razorwhip. The Dragon instinctively dropped him and Hiccup plummeted towards the ocean yet again. This time he unfurled his leather wings, but as he started gliding the Razorwhip grabbed him yet again and this time pinned his limbs against his body. He could do nothing now but shout.

"Well, well, well, Hiccup," The Rider laughed, "Fancy meeting you here on this lovely night! I've been waiting such a long time to see you again, Mi Amor!"

 **Author's Note: Just remember, all you who will be preparing your "I hate cliffhanger" reviews—I don't** _ **have**_ **to post the next chapter! (Evil Laugh)**

 **Happy Halloween everyone! The next post will probably be November 4** **th** **.**


	28. Chapter 28

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Warning: while I would never include anything worthy of an 'M' rating in this story, out of the all the chapters this is the one with the strongest sexual content.**

 **Chapter 28**

 **Mice in an Adder's Burrow**

Consternation reigned supreme on Berk.

The Dragon Riders had returned home much later than they had told Stoick they would, which in itself was grounds for uneasiness. The news they brought only turned the uneasiness to complete and absolute worry. Not only did they report in full what they had seen about the gigantic iron ship Drago had built, but they also made it known that Hiccup and Toothless had been chased by another dragon rider and, despite the best efforts of the Riders they had no idea where they could have gone or if they were even still alive. Fishlegs had been with Hiccup during the chase but had gotten knocked into the sea and had lost track of them.

Berk had some news for them as well. Marva had gone missing the night before. There were so many boats around that it was difficult to work out if any were missing, but it was assumed she had taken one. Gort was naturally very worried, but most of the others were more concerned about Hiccup's absence.

Most of the Riders set out again later that same day. Bertha refused to let Camicazi go and it was the same with Mrs. Larson and Gustav, despite his very loud protests. While they were gone the Chiefs and the most trusted Vikings discussed what to do. There was still some time, they thought and hoped. Maybe Hiccup had gotten lost. He had been flying at night, it was possible. Maybe he had been chased and gotten away, but was forced to take a longer route back. Maybe he had some secret plan going on. Stoick pointed out that while in the cells on Berserk Hiccup had kept his plans to himself until the last minute. Maybe he had returned to the Sanctuary and had neglected to tell the others.

Admittedly, most of these 'maybes' were the result of Stoick trying to find some way to avoid the most likely possibility: that Hiccup had been captured by Drago and was possibly dead. While he knew Hiccup had been in danger before, probably more times than Hiccup would ever tell him, it did not make him feel any better to know his son was Odin knows where and beyond his help.

The plans they had made less than two days before were virtually thrown out the window when Fishlegs described the iron ship. All three Chiefs flat out refused to risk their fleets against that monster. Instead of taking the offensive, they would defend. It seemed obvious what would happen next: Drago would come for them. He would know by now of what was transpiring on Berk, so he would most likely sail there and launch an attack with the Outcasts and Berserkers and any other allies he might have. Orders were at once given to improve the island defenses and a watch was set. And in this the Chiefs found some hope. Drago's ship may have been formidable at sea but it would be entirely useless once a beach assault started, and that was what they expected and hoped for. Once a beach assault began success would come down to the skills of the warriors involved, and the three Chiefs had complete confidence in the ability of their warriors.

"Let them come!" Bertha boomed, loud enough for anyone standing outside the Mead Hall to hear. "Drago's got a nice big ship, but on land at worst we'll be fighting on equal terms! Without a real army that ship is nothing but a hunk of metal!"

"Not to mention we have some dragons," Gort added, "That will help immensely."

And that was another source of comfort. Hiccup had always assured them that Drago had very few dragons. In fact, as far as they could tell, he only had that Razorwhip. On top of that, Stoick revealed something Hiccup had told him the night before. The Dragons at the Sanctuary were expecting Hiccup to come to fetch them, but if he did not arrive by the afternoon of the appointed day, they were to take off and link up with Berk as soon as possible. So hopefully by tomorrow night there would be a huge flock of dragons on Berk, which would add considerably to its defense.

For the Dragon Riders, no matter what consolation they could find or what hope they could come up with, the fact still remained their friends were missing. And when the Riders reassembled before the Chiefs that night after hours of searching, they were still missing. So was Marva.

"We found a boat," Ruffnut announced, for once a bit somber. "The side bore the Owl Gut brand." As a measure against theft, it was customary for the Owl Guts to brand their tribe's seal onto their boats for identification. "Some bags of food and a canteen were in it. Nothing else."

"Were there any signs of a struggle?" Gort asked anxiously. Ruffnut shook her head. "Where is the boat now?"

"We towed it back to Berk. It's tied up right now."

"Ruff, where did you find it?" Stoick asked.

"A few leagues north of here,"

"Do we know which direction she was going?"

They all guessed she was heading to Berserk to join with Drago, but nobody wanted to say that with Gort present. He stood up shakily, thanked them, and excused himself, saying he wanted to inspect the boat in person.

"And 'Iccup?" Gobber asked as Gort left. The Rider all shook their heads.

It was hard to believe that the previous night there was a party going on there. Now everybody was anxious for any news or any hint that things were going to be all right. The Riders took their very late dinner at Astrid's house.

"I heard Mildew going around earlier," Snotlout remarked, "shouting stuff about how Hiccup was a traitor and that he always knew he was no good, and if we had listened to him we'd never have gotten into this mess."

"What did you do about it?" Fishlegs asked.

"Told him to shut up or I'd unleash the Twins on him." he looked around to see if his joke produced any smiles. It did, but only for a second.

"So he's been captured," Camicazi said at last, "how do we rescue him?"

"The Chief won't let us go out there now," Fishlegs said miserably, "he told me and Astrid when we got back 'none of you lot are to leave this island now until the other dragons show up.'"

"So we wait until they do and then leave at once," Astrid said grimly, "it's just possible Hiccup will escape on his own, but if not, we'll find him,"

"I'll bet he's in that monster of a boat," Snotlout said.

"And how do we break him out of there?"

"Can you be certain he's in there? If we broke into that thing and it turned out he wasn't there—"

"I say we go now!" Tuffnut suddenly shouted impatiently,

"Didn't you hear me?" Fishlegs asked hoarsely, "the Chief doesn't want us going anywhere!"

"And what's Stoick gonna do to stop us?" Snotlout demanded, "I agree with Tuff. The results are what matter here and he'd forgive us if we brought Hiccup back!"

Astrid shook her head numbly. "If we leave now we leave Berk without dragons to defend it. We don't know what Drago might pull while we're gone. No, we wait until those other dragons show up. It'll only be a day at most. Hiccup can take care of himself that long." She prayed desperately that he could as she picked at her dinner.

"And meantime we're just going to sit here until that Drago What's-His-Fist and Deranged Boy and Elvin come to us?" Ruffnut exclaimed.

"Yep," Cami said glumly,

"That is totally un-cool."

"Go tell the Chief that," Fishlegs said bitterly.

Astrid suddenly slammed her fist into the table. "So, how do we get Hiccup out of that ship?"

"You certain he's in there?" Cami asked,

"No, but where else could they put him? In the cells on Berserk? He's already escaped from those once; they wouldn't be stupid enough to risk a second escape. Fish, do you think Changewing acid could eat through the hull of that vessel and make a hole large enough for a person to squeeze through?"

"Maybe…given a little time. I'd say it's worth a try,"

"All right, then here's what we do. As soon as the dragons get here we take some Changewings and then find that ship. The Changewings spit a hole through the side, we slip in, make the first person we come across take us to Hiccup and Toothless, and then once they're freed we find a way to destroy the ship. And if we can't destroy it we might at least cripple it and give Drago a good scare. And maybe Hiccup and Toothless are already doing that and they'll be turning up in the morning,"

"I hope so," Fishlegs said quietly. Everyone nodded.

Eventually Astrid went to her room. She had suddenly had enough of planning and battle talk for one day. Instead she slumped onto the bed and stared at the wall without actually looking at it.

"Please, Odin, look after Hiccup and Toothless tonight," She prayed, "Please, Odin, look after all of us. We're going to need all the help we can get." Although it was only Hiccup and Toothless who were absent, she felt like a tower that had lost its foundations.

Neither Astrid nor Stoick, each one pacing anxiously around their rooms and trying futilely to calm down, got any sleep that night.

Hiccup groaned. His head felt like an anvil had been dropped on it. The room seemed to be spinning. He tried to stand up but his sense of balance was so horrible he toppled over instantly. It was then that he realized his prosthetic was missing.

"That explains that," he mumbled, "Now where am I?" The room now came into focus. It was not a room, it was a cell. A rather large cell with walls of hard black iron and a door of hard iron bars.

"Must be the lounge on that black ship of Drago's," Hiccup said, "any Yaknog while we're at it?" He turned his head and saw a skeleton sitting in one corner. "Oh, hello there. What are you in for? That's real rough, mate. There I go, talking to dead people. I should go into business as a soothsayer. My father will be so proud of me." He was aware that he was talking but was not really aware that of what he was actually saying. It was like his mouth had a mind of its own. "Let's see, I was just flying through the air with Toothless and I—TOOTHLESS!" he leapt to his feet and fell over again. He crawled over to the door. "HEY! WHERE'S MY DRAGON? WHERE'S MY DRAGON? SO HELP ME IF YOU'VE HARMED ONE SCALE I'LL BURN YOUR FACE OFF AND MAKE YOU EAT IT!"

At that moment Dagur poked his head around the corner. "Why hello there, Hiccup! My little brother, come to join his family again! Oh happy days! Welcome on board the _Czernobog_!"

"WHERE'S TOOTHLESS?"

"Oh dear me. I am so exceedingly sorry to bring you such bad news, little Brother, but your toothy friend Toothless, we had to…"

Hiccup swallowed. "Yes?"

"We killed him! HAHA! Tore him to pieces! Drank his blood at dinner! Made spears from his bones and guts! HAHA!" He started singing "Toothless is dead, dead, dead! Toothless cannot save you! Toothless cannot save you—wait, why are you laughing? You're not supposed to be laughing! You're supposed to be crying like a little baby because your dragon is dead!"

"Oh really? If Toothless is dead, show me his body!" Hiccup laughed, "No Dagur, if Toothless was dead you'd have put his corpse in here with me so I'd know beyond any doubt he was gone forever!"

"Oh very clever little Brother! But he soon will be! Yes oh yes, soon you will _all_ be that way! And I will plant spoons upon your graves and dance on them!" He threw his arms up in the air and began dancing—sort of. "Yes, I'll dance on them! Want to join me?"

"Sure!"

"A-haha, nice try, little Brother! I know your tricks! Besides, you can't dance with only one foot!"

"Bet I can!"

"Bet you can't!"

"Bet I can!"

"Bet you ca—ant!"

"How much?"

Dagur was about to answer but he caught himself. "Oh, nice try, you sly little pest! I know what you're doing! You're trying to trick me into letting you out! Then you'll find the armory where all your stuff is and you'll escape, just like last time—WHEN YOU DESTROYED MY ARMADA!"

"Oh yeah…sorry about that." Hiccup said nonchalantly.

"Not yet you're not, but you soon will be! But we're going to have some fun first!" he held up a whip and grinned. "Your back wasn't scarred enough last time."

"Now Dagur, I'm sure we can cut a deal…we're both reasonable men, after all. How much are they paying you here?"

"What's it to you?"

"Well if it's money you're after, I'll double it. I've got piles of gold at home."

"Do you?" Dagur was interested in spite of himself.

"Lots of gold and jewels Dagur. I've got more money than any ten Vikings put together. And I can offer you something else: your freedom. Think about it, Dagur, why should a man like you be Drago's pawn? You must know that once he's gotten all he wants from you he'll kill you. What could you possibly hope to gain from this alliance?"

"Maybe I'll kill him first!"

"Aren't you tired of all this double crossing and secrecy and espionage? I know I am. Don't you want to just live peacefully somewhere with no obsessive madmen or gambling with your own life day and night, never knowing for certain who's going to stab you the second your back is turned?"

"Well, when you put it that way—a little place by the sea, the right girl, maybe a few kids to look after me in my old age, a dog or two, it does sound nice. You know, I had a dog named Garmr when I was a kid," he started sniffing, "most vicious and faithful beast a man could ever ask for,"

"I'm sorry to hear that. How did he die?"

"He drowned trying to kill a Monkfish!" Dagur suddenly started bawling. "My bestest friend gone because of some stupid legless sea-lizard! Oh Hiccup, do you know what that does to a boy? And I didn't want Monkfish that night either! I wanted cod!" He flung himself against the door of the cell weeping like a child. Hiccup awkwardly stuck his arm between the bars and patted him on the head.

"There, there, Dagur, it's going to be all right,"

"I know but first I lose my mom and my sister and then Garmr—it was just me and my dad, all alone in the dark, cruel world!

"Sister?" Hiccup repeated. "You don't have a sister!"

"Oh yes I did."

"'Did'?"

"Yeah," Just as suddenly as they had started the sobs stopped. "Mom had some relatives on some distant island, and she thought it would be good for her and Heather to go for a visit—and probably to get Heather away from me. Mom thought I was a bad influence on her."

"I can't imagine why,"

"I know, I mean—so what if I beheaded her doll a few times and sacrificed it to the Gods over a fire—anyhow, they sailed off and we never saw them again."

"Shipwrecked?"

"Most likely," Dagur sniffed. "I was only six at the time."

"No wonder I don't remember her."

"Yeah, I don't think you two ever met."

"A real shame," Hiccup lowered his voice, "Dagur, it's been really nice talking to you, but you know we can't have more conversations like this if Drago kills both of us—which he will as soon as he's gotten what he wants,"

"Not if I get what I want and kill him first," Dagur replied. The old demonic glint was back in his eyes.

"And what _do_ you want?" Hiccup asked, "Perhaps I can get it for you—and unlike Drago I won't kill you later on,"

"Well—"

At that moment a heavily scarred and one eyed Viking came over and told Dagur that Drago wanted to see him.

"But I was about to have some fun with my brother!" Dagur pouted.

"Sorry Sir, but orders are orders."

"Yes they are! And I'm ordering you to watch my brother until I get back. We don't want him getting away this time, now do we?"

"Oh Odin _forbid_ I escape again," Hiccup replied. Inside he was raging. If he had just been allowed another _minute_ he might have convinced Dagur. Now Dagur would go back to Drago and his influence. He had no doubt now that the Gods hated him.

Dagur left chuckling and the guard turned to stare at Hiccup. "Well, I see you guys have upped your security. Nice to know you learn from your mistakes. I don't suppose you'll accept bribes?"

The guard laughed, a truly ugly sound, and spat in Hiccup's face.

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

Dagur stormed onto the deck. "All right, what's going on here? I was trying to spend some quality time with my family!"

Alvin chuckled, but Drago kept his attention on what was in front of him. It was a caged Toothless being loaded onto another ship. Dagur grinned at the sight.

"Ok, I'll admit, this is worth the time. He doesn't look so tough now, does he?"

"Not wid 'is mouth tied up!" cackled Alvin. "So 'ow soon can we git goin'?"

"Once the dragon's loaded," Drago replied coldly. He really did not want Dagur or Alvin around, but it was better to have them where he could keep an eye on them. That was the main reason he had summoned Dagur: he did not want him where the Dragon King could pull a trick on him. "Put your backs into it, you useless worms!"

"But this'll take another hour at least!" Dagur pouted. "I wanna get going now!"

'Oh you'll be going to that Valhalla place soon enough,' Drago thought, 'And I'll be a lot happier for it!'

"Say, Drago, where'd ya get that cage anyway? Ah've never seen sich metal as that before!"

"Oh, I know people who specialize in caging dragons," Drago replied smugly. "The metal is completely dragon proof." He had wanted to build the entire _Czernobog_ of that metal, but those people had refused, declaring there was not enough metal for such a ship. Still, a giant ship made of iron was a reasonable second choice.

Inside the cage Toothless was doing everything he could to prove that statement wrong. Even though his mouth was bound, he was thrashing about like a crocodile and scrapping his claws on anything they could reach. It was all for nothing. The greenish bars on his cage would not budge nor did they show any sign of wear or tear.

Suddenly Toothless stopped and his eyes narrowed. He had spotted two people approaching Drago, and he knew both of them instantly. The first was Adoncia, that beautiful Spanish woman who had caught him and his rider the night before, and the other one was none other than Marva the Larva.

' **So she's betrayed us** ,' the Night Fury thought darkly, ' **can't say I'm really surprised."** He looked around again, hoping against hope his human would suddenly appear, with his flaming sword out as he ran to cut the ropes that were hoisting the cage into the air. Then his rider would jump onto him, they'd blast a few foes, blow up the ship, and fly off triumphantly. Nothing.

' **Hiccup where** _ **are**_ **you**?' Toothless refused to believe Hiccup was dead. If he was they'd be showing his body to him. Of course, he could all too well imagine what they might be doing to a living Hiccup and that made him even more ferocious in his attempts to get out.

"And who is this?" Drago demanded.

"Found her in a boat, just like Dogsbreath," Adoncia said, "I swear, Drago, I am really getting tired of going back and forth transporting people, my poor Razorwhip is getting—"

Marva cut in and bowed low. "Drago Bludvist, this is a great honor! I have been waiting a long time to meet you! If you allow it you will find me your most obedient and trustworthy servant!"

"Oh really?" Drago was uncertain if he should take her seriously.

"Let me prove it, Master of Dragons!"

"She said her father is the Chief of the Owl Gut tribe, and she knows a lot of the plans your enemies are making," Adoncia told them.

"Does she now?"

"Ah don't believe it!" Alvin growled. "She's a spy sent by Stoick's lil' runt, I wager!"

"Nonsense!" Dagur said. He threw his arm around Marva's shoulders as though they were the best of friends. "I've known Marva for years, Drago! She's been an admirer of your handiwork for a long time!"

"Yes I have, and I don't like dragons and I like that stupid fishbone Hiccup even less!" Marva added loudly. "His ideas for training dragons are weak and dumb! You know what happened? I tried to train a Screaming Death as you would have, Sir, and the stupid dragon got angry, and then Hiccup got angry, blamed me for everything, and tried to kill me! Wouldn't even let me fly a dragon anymore! And while I don't much care about that last part, it did mess up my plans because I was going to bring my dragon to you!"

"And why are you so determined to join us?" Drago asked,

"To join _you_ , sir! It's obvious you're going to win! You've got the right way of dealing with dragons, those filthy lizards, and you've clearly got the superior army, so why shouldn't I side with the side that's going to win?"

"Good points." Drago said with a cold smile, "I think we should hear what she has to say. She could prove useful to us."

"I'll be more than useful if you only give me the chance!" At that moment Marva spotted Toothless and sneered at the sight. "Just look at him. Where's his stupid kind master now? But Great Drago, are you not going to beat him into servitude?"

"What good would a weak and flightless Night Fury be to me?" Drago spat, "once it serves its purpose here it'll be disposed of,"

"And what x-actly is its purpose anyway?" Alvin demanded.

"You'll see," Drago smirked as they made their way to his cabin, the one place on the entire ship that had comfortable furnishings. "You may accompany it, if you'd like,"

"Only if 'e's goin' ta Berk. If not, Ah am stayin' 'ere."

"Suit yourself," Drago turned to Adoncia, "are you prepared for your next task?"

"To go running off again and do this and that for your big plans because I'm the only one with a dragon?" She yawned, "I go around to Norbert and Magodon, catch a Night Fury and his handsome rider by sheer luck, then you send me off to try and pick off anyone coming to rescue him and I pick up this girl instead, and now you want me to leave again! Sorry Drago, but I'm a bit tired of running around because you say so!"

Drago grabbed her by the throat. "I have not waited all these years for you to be tired! You and that dragon of yours will go when and where I tell you, or I throw your bones into the ocean and let this new girl replace you! Got that?"

"Sí," She whispered. His grip on her neck prevented her from speaking any louder.

"Such authority and power" Marva whispered in awe. "I am so glad I'm here!"

Drago was focusing on Adoncia. "Good. But you won't be leaving for nearly an hour now, so go take a nap, if you're tired." He paused, "Or…the Dragon King is down in the cells,"

"Oh he is, is he?" Adoncia said with a sly smile.

Hiccup was lying on the floor, examining from a distance the door to his cell. The guard guessed he was working on an escape plan, but he could hardly make Hiccup stop thinking except by knocking him out, which was against orders. Footsteps were heard and the guard's pulse began to pick up when he saw the lovely Spanish woman approaching him, carrying an axe and twirling it around casually.

"Why don't you take a break for a while?" She said, her voice almost dripping with honey and suggestiveness.

"Drago said—I mean—I would be happy to do as you wish, madam, but my—"

"Excellent, then let me in and then go away."

"But Drago—"

"Said somebody must always be watching the prisoner at all times—and I will be watching him very closely." She put her hand delicately on the guards shoulder, "surely you could do this for me, Mi Amor?"

The guard unlocked the door and let Adoncia in, then locked it again and left.

"All too easy," she whispered, "men are so easy to manipulate—except you, Mi Amor," she turned to Hiccup, who had been doing his utmost to ignore her. "No matter what I've done, you keep on resisting me,"

"You tortured me." Hiccup shuddered.

"Those were some fun times, weren't they?" Adoncia replied, as if they were reflecting on their life together, "I had a lot of fun, but this is even better. If it's any consolation, it's only by complete accident you were captured. I was returning to the ship and I spotted you flying the other direction, so I went after you. I guess something about you draws me to you," she swung her axe around again. This time Hiccup got a good look at it and his stomach tightened.

"I recognize that axe. It belongs to Norbert the Nutjob!"

She ran a finger along the axe's edge. "Sí. He would use it to make decisions. When Drago sent me to him to see if he'd join us, he made the wrong decision. And his last one."

"And the rest of the Hysterical Tribe?"

"They had more sense in them. But let's not talk about them, Mi Amor," she put the axe down and came closer to him. "How's my sweet Pepito?"

" _Grimm_ is doing just fine, no thanks to you."

"Such hostility!" Adoncia laughed, "I like that in a man. It's boring when they're weak and submissive."

Hiccup rolled onto his side so he could look her in the face. "Adoncia, why are you doing this?"

"Why not?" She laughed, "Perhaps I enjoy seeing you squirm. Perhaps I want to see how long you'll go before you can resist me no longer." She slowly pulled off her leather flight suit. Underneath was a skimpy and plain brown shirt.

"I suppose you performed a similar show for Dogsbreath?"

She snorted, "Now _he_ was no challenge. It was like offering vegetables to a rabbit. If I hadn't wanted information from him I wouldn't have bothered." She lay down on the floor next to Hiccup, in such close proximity he could feel her breath when she exhaled.

"Adoncia, has it ever occurred to you I don't _want_ to do this?"

"All men do," she purred, and she began pulling off her shirt.

"Taking your clothes off isn't going to persuade me, you know" Hiccup forced himself to look at the ceiling. He felt her hands grasp his own shirt. "Nor will taking off mine!" he added quickly as he rolled away.

"Mi Amor, I'd almost say by now you didn't like women—"

"And who would I have to thank for that, I wonder?"

"—except I know you've got feelings for a certain Hofferson—whom I intend to try my new axe on!"

Hiccup sat up and seized Adoncia by the throat, "if you lay a finger on her, I will dedicate my life to hunting you down and murdering you!" he shouted. She responded by coming forward and kissing him on the lips. They rolled around on the floor, her kissing him harder while he tried to push her away from him.

She pulled away to catch her breath. "I'm enjoying this, Mi Amor!" she laughed.

" _Why_? Why do you enjoy flaunting your body like this?" he shouted,

Adoncia's smile vanished. "I'm what men want, boy. Everywhere I go, it's a woman's body that matters most to men. So I give them what they want and use it to control _them_. And who has resisted me? Even you—you could have torn me to pieces a moment ago if you had chosen to, I imagine, yet you won't even give me a black eye—you don't dare hurt a woman, now do you, Mi Amor? It's too dishonorable for a man like you, isn't it?"

"I think that giant axe you've got trumps fists and black eyes,"

She had maneuvered herself so that he was in a corner, and ran a finger down his cheek, "quite right," she whispered, "But imagine this, Hiccup. I was declared a disgrace and a sin before I was even born. From the moment I first breathed the filthy air in a stable because my mother could find nowhere else to stay because she was not married, I was been condemned by every 'decent' person I ever met. I think you know something of this yourself. You were not strong—yet for a while you ruled over dragons. I was deserted before I had done anything and was left to fend for myself. Even my own father only showed interest in me once he realized my beauty could add to his fortune—a fortune I saw absolutely nothing of when he died; when your dragon tore him to _pieces_!"

She pinned him against the wall and learned in so she was speaking right into his ear. "The world is full of hypocrites, Mi Amor: I was proclaimed a sin when I was a child, and yet once I grew up, no man but you ever resisted once I had them in my sights—and I imagine I could have won even you over given time." She smiled, "I daresay I could have slept with the Pope himself if I had been given the opportunity,"

Hiccup suddenly slipped from her grasp, but his missing leg gave him no balance and he fell onto the floor again. She was on top of him in an instant, her long black hair getting into his face as her expression hardened. "It's a cruel world, Mi Amor, and I have to survive with what weapons I have—so why should I not enjoy making fools suffer because they can't control their lust for my flesh? Why should I not enjoy making you suffer because you can? I've had enough waiting—" she flung her arms around him and began to kiss him on the lips fiercely despite his protests. They rolled around on the floor, him trying to throw her off, and her trying in between kisses to pull his clothes off.

Drago appeared at the door. "That's enough, Adoncia. It's time for you to go."

"Oh come on, we were just getting started!" she shouted in annoyance.

"I don't care. You have to leave now."

"Just another half hour,"

"NOW Adoncia!"

She groaned and started putting her clothes back on. "Fine, I'll get going—but I'll be back soon, Mi Amor!" She blew a kiss to Hiccup as she left, muttering curses. Drago pulled the cell door shut and locked the two of them in.

"You know, I never thought the day would come when I'd be glad to see you, Drago, but that day has come!" Hiccup groaned as he gasped for breath, trying to hide how intimidated and nervous he was feeling right now. "Of all the women in all the world I could have met, why did I have to cross paths with a present day Messalina?"

"I like seeing you uncomfortable," Drago sneered, "I'd have let her go on with it, but time is of the essence right now,"

"So, the _Czernobog_ , huh? Isn't that the Slavic Black God? I'd have named it _Leviathan_ myself, but Black God is fitting enough! You must be very proud of yourself, building this thing—using my own design! I'm a bit surprised you've managed to build it without my knowing it. Let me guess: I focused on watching you so much I didn't notice other things going on?"

Drago looked smug. "Exactly. I ordered this ship built seven years ago. To keep it a secret I've stayed as far away from the construction sites as possible. And I know people who are better at keeping secrets than you could ever hope to be."

"Very clever,"

"I love the irony of it," Drago smiled, if you could call such an ugly mouth movement a smile, "the Dragon King's own weapons used against him."

"Yes, well, you of all people would know how that feels.

Drago's expression hardened. "Yes I do. Ever since Fort Flay you've been wrecking everything I've built!"

"Now that's funny, Drago, because I never been to Fort Flay."

"Spare me the bluff."

"I'm not bluffing."

"And you expect me to believe that there was another person riding a dragon and going around saving the dragons I caught? Don't insult my intelligence, boy."

"Well, was I riding a Night Fury at Fort Flay? Explain that, if you can."

"Simple. As you know, years ago I put a spear into the dragon you were riding. Obviously it died of its wounds and you had to find a replacement. You've got plenty enough."

Hiccup was intrigued but disguised the fact by saying as annoyingly as he could "Ok, you're right, you're right, I'm through with the lies, so you've got me, haha, figured out my big secret, drag me up on deck and I'll confess it to the world—"

Drago hit him in the head. "SHUT UP!"

Hiccup dropped the banter. "So what now, Drago? Why am I still alive?"

"You are still alive, because you are going to watch everything you stood for fall apart. And I need you alive in case Adoncia fails to do her part."

Hiccup shook his head. "That's really a clichéd thing to do, Drago. I might upset your plans again."

"Oh don't worry. Until we reach Berk, I'll be staying here to keep an eye on you. And when I leave to join in the attack that'll destroy Berk, your old betrothal has volunteered to watch you. Even if you try to escape, you won't get far without your other leg—the one with the picklock in it, yes I know about that now."

"My old betrothal—oh, _she's_ here, is she? Can't say I'm really surprised."

"She's promising to be a most faithful helper."

Hiccup snorted, "What would you know anything about being faithful? You're dragons abandoned you the moment I gave them the chance."

"If those fools of soldiers had forced them into servitude properly, they would never have run." Drago retorted.

Hiccup shook his head. "Or maybe they just had no sense of loyalty to you, have you ever thought of that?"

"Loyalty…do you think soldiers fight out of 'loyalty'? They fight because they are made to do it or else they'll die. Do you think people work and slave for the master because they feel loyal to him? They do it because they are made to fear the consequences of not doing it. Fear is what gets things moving, boy, not loyalty. Would your own people have united behind you if they did not fear my attacking them? It's the same with dragons. It's the same with all of nature."

"Drago, there is still time to abandon this now."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? Abandon everything just when I'm on the brink of success?"

"Success against _what_? A few islands? How is _that_ taking over the world? You've seen part of the world; you know it's too big to conquer, even if you had 200 ships like this and every dragon in existence under your control!"

"Then I'll conquer what I can. I'll have my revenge if nothing else. And soon I _will_ have every dragon in existence under my control."

"Revenge. You've seen my father; he's spent over 20 years trying to get revenge on dragons, and look where that's gotten him!"

"Your father is a weak fool. Strong in body, perhaps, but his mind and will are weak. That's why he hasn't gotten his revenge yet and why he never will."

"Like you're doing any better?"

Drago kicked him in the chest. "Those fools I've been forced to ally myself with have been failing me at every turn! If my plans had been followed by men with sense and strength, I never would have been driven from my home. Do you know what that's like, boy? To be driven from the place you were born in, the place you fought to defend, the place you've tried to make something out of?"

"I believe I do. But does that justify _this_?"

Drago snorted. "Justice is made by the man in charge, and that man is me. When I have complete control and don't need those fools for allies, I shall see to it that my justice is carried out fully."

"I thought as much. Death for anyone who's crossed you and for anyone you deem weak?"

"Exactly,"

"The Romans tried that against the Christians, you know, and Vikings have been trying it against dragons for centuries. It hasn't worked."

"Obviously both lacked the will to finish the job. But I have the willpower."

"I think you'd proclaim yourself to be a god if you could get away with it. Well, word of advice: you better be certain that your chosen strong ones have strong stomachs."

Drago was confused. "'Strong stomachs'?"

"Of course. If you're killing all the weak ones, that's going to be a lot of corpses. The stench of rotting flesh is going to be horrific."

Drago burst into a laugh. "Wrong again, boy! Once the weeding begins, my dragon army is going to grow fat—and so will my soldiers!"

Hiccup suddenly looked sick. "Are you saying—?"

"How else do you think I fed my dragons back before you stole them? Casualties, weaklings, those without any hope of recovery—it was very economical. Even my soldiers, if you can call those sniveling cowards who deserted me soldiers, were given a share if rations were slack."

"And did you actually tell them what they were eating?"

"Only those who prepared it—and they were warned they'd be in the next meal if they said anything about it. But nobody minded. They were grateful that I was being humane to them! I saw to it my poor soldiers and dragons were well fed—you'd be amazed at what people will eat if they're hungry and don't know what they're actually eating! And my new army of dragons will feast upon the corpses of your friends in Berk before the week is over! Adoncia's Razorwhip already has. You remember your old friend Dogsbreath? You're sharing a cell with him!" He laughed and pointed to the skeleton in the corner.

Author's note:

A little trivia: Hiccup suggests the ship be named _Leviathan_. That was in fact the ship's original name. I changed it to _Czernobog_ to reflect Drago's Slavic heritage. Czernobog is a figure in Slavic mythology whose name means 'Black God.'

Also, Adoncia gets compared with Messalina. Messalina was the third wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius. According to some historians, and I have no way of telling if this is actually true or not, she was notorious for her adulteries and once competed with a prostitute to see who could wear out the most men in a single night. She was also said to have huge influence on her husband and to cross her meant death. She was later executed herself for allegedly plotting with her then lover to overthrow Claudius. Again, I don't know how much of this is true and how much was created by her enemies.

There are now only five more chapters to go, and I'm just as impatient to get them posted as anybody, so the next update will be November 7th.


	29. Chapter 29

**I own nothing**

 **All rights reserved**

 **The next chapter will be posted Friday the 11** **th**

 **Chapter 29**

 **The New Beta**

Adoncia's ship had been at sea for one day now. The voyage had started out with the crew, especially Adoncia, tingling with excitement, but it had been only a matter of time before everyone got bored. The excitement of anticipation had gone from being thrilling to stifling to nonexistent. It was not long before Adoncia had already made out with three members of the crew, but had found no satisfaction in any of it. Everyone was just too impatient to get this voyage finished, and Toothless most of all.

Once they had set sail, Adoncia had walked over to his cage and said to him "All right, el lagarto, escucha, por favor! You're going to direct us to your special island, and if you do not, we kill your human. Comprehendo? You will keep your head pointing forward and only turn it when we are to change direction. Remember, your actions will determine if poor little Hiccup stays alive. And don't think you're indispensible either. We might just kill you and force Hiccup to show us the way."

Ever since then, Toothless had been cramped and forced to stay still for most of the voyage. His head was forever pointing in one direction, the cage was too small to comfortably stretch out in, and the bounds around him frequently dug into his skin and itched in places he could not scratch. How he had managed to endure all this while worrying endlessly about Hiccup, he had no idea. His main consolation was that it would not last much longer. He took particular care that the humans would not know that, however, and another source of consolation was to see them bored or impatient. Nobody could really harm him, for the cage protected him from whips just as it protected the crewmen from his claws, and nobody was foolish enough to get into the cage with him. So he could look at them sitting around with nothing to do and feel smug about it.

" **Are you sure the two of us can handle this**?" Evictus asked Grimm as they prepared to leave the Sanctuary. " **Wouldn't it be more prudent to bring some others with us**?"

" **Relax, Evictus. It's a simple rescue. We fly in, disable the ship, you throw everyone overboard as always, and then we'll free Toothless and help him back home. At worst it'll take ten minutes. There's no need to get anyone else involved.** "

" **Is that Razorwhip traveling with them**?"

" **The scouts haven't seen it. I doubt it. Drago probably doesn't want to risk using it unless he has to. He's probably saving it for the big battle, as if that'll make a difference!** " Grimm laughed. He did not laugh very often, and it sounded like a thunder clap mixed with a gagging human when he did.

" **This is rather odd. Normally I'm the one eager for action and you're the cheerless worrywart**."

" **My old mistress is on that boat. I've been waiting for a long time to send a bolt of lightning through her and that's exactly what I'm going to do.** "

" **And what are we going to do about rescuing the Hatchling**?"

" **We'll discuss it with Toothless once we get him. Now, shall we**?"

" **After you, my Beta** ," Evictus replied with an exaggerated bow of his head and a sweep of his wing.

The main source of concern for Toothless was, naturally, Hiccup. At first Toothless feared they had his human imprisoned somewhere below deck, possibly being guarded by the Razorwhip. He eventually decided Hiccup was not on this ship, though he knew the Razorwhip was. Another source of worry that really disturbed him was that the water they were sailing through at this point was prone to having giant eels in it. He knew this all too well; this part of the ocean was infamous among dragons. These eels were longer than most serpents and as thick as trees. They were the kind of creatures that had become the subject of folklore among humans and they were also among the few creatures that could and would kill and eat a dragon. The fact that only a few planks of wood separated him from them was a very disquieting idea.

If those humans had had any idea of what might be slinking through the water underneath them, they would not be complaining so much about how slow everything was going. As it was, they appeared to have no idea. They got so bored that finally Adoncia announced she would make love to the ship's helmsman on the deck and invited everyone to watch. Toothless had absolutely no desire to see _that_ , so he suddenly turned his head to the right. Thus far he had kept his head pointing straight, so this movement sent a wave of excitement through the crew. The ship was set in motion and as night began to fall they were nearing a small and relatively flat island in the middle of nowhere. Toothless kept his head pointing straight at the island. Right before they ran into it, Adoncia ordered them to stop the ship while she got out and took a look around.

"What is this?" she shouted, "this is not the Sanctuary!"

' **Got that right, She-Spaniard** ,' Toothless thought smugly, ' **did you really think we didn't have a plan for this already**?'

Adoncia swore several times in Spanish and stormed around the island. "That lizard thinks it's tricked me, does it? I'll kill it and wear its teeth for a necklace! And when we get back to Drago, I'll make Hiccup show me were the correct island is!"

' **Oh I don't think so**!' Toothless chuckled. He spotted movement in the sky and felt a huge burst of relief. The crewmen saw it too, and began shouting and pointing upwards.

A bolt of lightning struck the mast and blew it into splinters.

" **Get them**!" Grimm the Skrill roared as he flew overhead. But at that instant the Razorwhip burst from the hold and shouted " **I challenge**!"

Toothless's relief turned at once to horror. ' **No, no, no, no! Grimm, why'd you come here, you should have known this could happen!** '

Grimm as the Beta could only control a dragon's mind after he had first made eye contact with it. The Razorwhip had challenged him before its mind could be taken. If challenged, all mind control was ended until the battle was won. If the Razorwhip won, it would become the new Beta and have all the power that Grimm had—including the power to order other dragons to show it where the Sanctuary was.

"Why it's my dear sweet Peptio!" Adoncia laughed, "come back to be with his poor and lonely mother!"

Grimm ignored her and eyed his challenger. The large metallic dragon wasted no time and blew fire at him. Grimm responded with a lightning bolt. Both sides missed their targets. The Razorwhip spread it wings and launched itself into the air. Grimm flew higher, keeping out of striking distance. Lightning shot in every direction, and it was all the Razorwhip could do to dodge them.

" **Is this the best you could come up with, Drago**?" Grimm sneered, " **A dragon with scales that lightning is drawn to**?" He sent another bolt and blew off the horn on his opponent's nose.

Adoncia turned to her men. "You two load your crossbows and point them at the Night Fury! You men ready the net and bola launchers! Hurry!"

High up above them Evictus the Timberjack tried to take in the situation. Instinct told him to let Grimm handle the challenger while he destroyed the boat and those on it. But he saw the men had arrows pointed at Toothless. If he attacked the Night Fury would die and the Hatchling would never forgive him. Nor would he ever forgive himself.

" **But maybe if I capsize the boat—** " another bolt of lightning shot through the air and was followed by a loud scream from the Razorwhip. The metal dragon fired again, but Grimm dodged it easily and vanished into the clouds.

Evictus tried to relax as he anxiously scanned the skies. " **You can do this, Grimm! Just keep clear of the Razorwhip's tail and you've got it**!"

Another bolt of lightning came out of nowhere. It hit the Razorwhip right in the belly and the dragon plummeted onto the island.

" **Too easy** ," Grimm smirked, " **now let's get—** "

" **I haven't lost yet**!" The Razorwhip shouted as it got to its feet. " **This battle is not over**!"

" **Come on, give it up! You're no match for me in the air and I'm not fighting you on the ground**!"

" **You might have no choice**!" The Razorwhip laughed as it dodged another bolt of lightning. Grimm turned his head and saw a mass of bolas heading straight for him.

" **Grimm**!" Evictus shouted, cursing himself for not watching the humans.

" **I'm fine, I can do this**!" Grimm shouted. He fired more lightning and the bolas practically disintegrated. But the distraction had worked and the Razorwhip shot another ball of flame at him. It got Grimm partially in the head. He began thrashing around in the air. " **Evictus, help! I can't see! I can't see**!" At that moment a net was shot at him from the ship. The Skrill's wings were pinned against his body and he began falling. Evictus lunged for him but missed, and he plunged into the sea.

Adoncia and the crew cheered while Toothless made yet another attempt to break free, only to have an arrow prodded against his head. But the Razorwhip was confused.

" **Where is the power I should have now? I don't feel any different**!"

With a roar Grimm flung himself out of the sea and onto the island. " **That's because I'm still the Beta!** " His electrical powers were ruined by the water, so he charged right for the Razorwhip's throat. Their jaws locked and they rolled around on the ground, kicking, scratching, and biting at every possible opportunity.

The humans watched anxiously. The Razorwhip had dealt a sharp blow to Grimm's side when the ship suddenly tilted, throwing the humans against the railing on the starboard side.

"What was that?"

"Find out!" Adoncia shouted. A crew member rushed below deck, and rushed right back up shouting "we're sinking!"

Evictus climbed onto the ship laughing, " **Abandon ship! Here, let me help you**!" He seized the guards threatening Toothless and threw them overboard. He then slashed his talons against the cage, but it did no good. " **Where'd they get this stuff**?" he mumbled. He swung his tail and sent the ship's pilot flying into the ocean. Toothless thrashed about even more violently. The straps keeping his mouth shut were beginning to break.

By now Adoncia was the only human who had not gone into the water. She had lost the axe when the ship had begun listing, so now she grabbed a crossbow and fired it right into the Timberjack's tail. Evictus reacted at once, but Adoncia dodged his wings and leapt into the sea by her own intention. Evictus made to go after her but he suddenly started swaying and swung his head about in a disoriented manner.

" **Toothless, I don't feel good** ," he moaned, " **I feel kinda…** " He collapsed on what was left of the ship's tilting deck. On the island Adoncia grinned at the Night Fury, who was growing angrier by the minute as he tried to get himself free.

"Dragon Root Arrows. Quite the miracle weapon, are they not?" Behind her Grimm and the Razorwhip were tearing up the ground as they rolled around on it. Both of their hides were cut in a number of places and blood was all over the dirt and rocks. She reloaded the crossbow and aimed it at Grimm, mumbling "should have done this in the first place, but I thought my chosen dragon could handle it,"

Toothless was frantic now. He twisted and turned over and over and finally the leather muzzle on his mouth snapped—just as Adoncia fired the crossbow. It was a good shot. Grimm collapsed into the ground with a scream.

Toothless roared and spat as much plasma as he could at the Razorwhip. But the Razorwhip was too excited at the chance of victory to back off. At Adoncia's command, it raised its tail, let all the sharp spins protrude from it, and swung it at the Skrill's unprotected neck.

" **NO**!" Toothless screamed. He readied another plasma shot for Adoncia but the Razorwhip looked him in the eye.

" **I am the Beta now. Your mind belongs to me**."

It was a horrible feeling he had not felt in years. It felt like his mind was being squeezed and drained by an unseen force. Without realizing it, for his body was beyond his own control now, he bowed his head in obedience to the Razorwhip, who held its head up proudly.

Adoncia looked delighted as she climbed onto her dragon. "Kill the crew," she ordered, "Spare the dragons. We don't need the Night Fury anymore and it can't fly after us, so it can starve to death or drown here. We'll use the Timberjack to lead us to the nest, once it wakes up."

" **Yes** ," the Razorwhip whispered, " **I can feel the presence my subject's minds in my head already—all of them ready to bow to me! Night Fury!** "

" **Yes**?" Toothless said in a monotone voice.

" **When I summon the other dragons to follow me, you will remain where you are**!"

" **As you wish, my Beta** ,"

Adoncia, of course, not could understand this, but she saw her dragon was pleased and that was good enough for her. While they waited for the Timberjack to wake up there was the crew to deal with, but that was easily taken care of.

"Wait till Drago finds out about this," Adoncia laughed as she strolled along the island, "this will be—well hello, there, Pepito! Not quite dead, are you?" Grimm glared at her and feebly tried to lift himself. "I hate those who reject me, you know. My sweet Hiccup can attest to that. And you know what happens to those who reject me? I punish them for it." She raised her axe and cut off the Skrill's head.

"Too bad," Drago said after a very long period of silence. Hiccup was still in the cell and Drago was still sitting nearby watching him like a snake waiting for its bitten prey to die, "that your little scheme with your dragon pretending to be the Beta could not last."

"What makes you think he was pretending?" Hiccup asked lightly.

"Because if he was the Beta, he could have commanded the Razorwhip to do his bidding,"

"Perhaps he's got a scheme of his own in motion."

"I doubt it. Besides, he would not respond when I made the Razorwhip challenge him. As a Beta he would have to. Sorry, Hiccup, nice try, but your dragon's not the real Beta—but I'll wager the real Beta out there would care very much to have him back safe."

Hiccup declined to confirm or deny this. Instead he said "If I had a Naga-Raja around I'd have it blast that smug look off your ugly face."

Said face contorted. "And what, pray tell, is a Naga-Raja?"

"It's a Changewing relative that lives in India. They're larger, more snake like, and have much more potent acid. They hunt by spitting at their prey's head, and the acid literally eats through the animal's face and skull. Yes, I'd love to see your face after one spat at you."

"Well you won't!" Drago laughed. "Because no dragon can get you in here and even if that stuff could get through iron—"

"Which it can, in fact," Hiccup interrupted,

"Well even so, you don't have one available or you wouldn't have told me about it. And if you do happen to have one at your Sanctuary, I'll have it soon so it won't help you anyway."

Hiccup again declined to answer again, and instead brought up something that had been nagging him ever since he first figured out how the _Czernobog_ was built. "There's one thing I don't understand,"

"Only one?" Drago snorted.

"Why didn't Adoncia tell you who I was?"

"How on earth would _she_ know? Were you two meeting and sharing secrets on the sly?" he gave Hiccup a knowing wink that Hiccup ignored.

"You're in a very good mood when you've got your enemies locked up," he remarked, "so let me ruin it for you: you got the design for this ship from Adoncia, yes? So why didn't you read through the journal further? There were plenty of notes in there about me and Toothless, you could have easily used them to guess who the Dragon King really was, and yet you only acted against Berk once I revealed myself to them, which implies you only learned my true name then."

"What journal?" Drago asked sharply,

"The one the design for this ship was in,"

"All Adoncia gave me were some sheets of parchment,"

Hiccup sat up more attentively, "She didn't show the journal to you? She kept it to herself? Does that mean, then, that she knew my identity and never told _you_ about it?"

Drago's face contorted again. "I'll be sure to ask her about this the next time I see her." He was shaking with rage. Hiccup almost felt pity for what was coming for Adoncia.

Almost.

Toothless watched Evictus lead the Razorwhip and Adoncia away. The poor Timberjack had no choice in the matter; his Beta had commanded and he had to obey. For a while Toothless just sat where he was, with no thoughts in his head but what his Beta was thinking. Dreams of conquest, pillage, revenge, control, they were as much a part of Toothless's mind now as they were of the Razorwhip's. But at last the Beta moved beyond the limits of its telepathic powers, and Toothless's mind came back to him. It was like snapping out of a stupor; like the sponge of a narcotic had been removed from his nose all of a sudden. He could think again as he wanted to. But he was still stuck in his cage.

His mouth was freed, but his limbs were still chained up, and even if they were not, he was still trapped. Never in his life had he ever felt so alone, so helpless, and so much of a failure. Even when he was stuck in the cove at Raven Point and was trying to come to terms with never flying again, before he had become friends with Hiccup, he had at least been able to move around. But here…he was stuck. He could not get out, he could not save his friends and family, one of them was already decaying less than ten wingspans away from him, he was probably going to slowly starve to death, and while he stood there and starved all his friends, the dragons he had once commanded, would be forced to slave for Drago Bludvist, and all the humans his brother had called friends would all perish.

He glanced at Grimm's corpse. " **Oh Grimm, why'd you come yourself? If you hadn't you'd still be alive and they wouldn't have control over our flock now! You just couldn't stay back while others were in trouble and you thought just you and Evictus would have been enough. And you probably would have been if that cursed Razorwhip hadn't been there**!" He added bitterly. Overconfidence and compassion, that's what it had come down to, and now they were paying for it. Some would break down and cry, but dragons were incapable of crying. Toothless remembered sadly the time he had asked his brother about why human eyes had that strange ability. He wondered what Hiccup was doing now. Was there any chance Hiccup was enacting some plan that would save them all?

" **Enacting a plan without me to look after him**?" Toothless exclaimed.

Probably not, now that he thought about it. He was probably locked up in a cell again with guards all over, guards abusing him and jeering at him and taunting him and—

The rage Toothless had felt earlier returned with even greater power. He was angrier than he had ever been in his life. Here he was, locked in a cage while his friends were in peril! He had to do something! He began shaking. His whole body was pulsing with power and anger. He could not see it but the scales on his back were starting to glow like purple and blue crystals. He roared louder than he ever had before. He shot plasma blast after plasma blast at the bars of his cage with more firepower than he had ever used before. He pulled and tore his bindings with more strength than he knew he was capable of. The bars bent and broke; his bindings snapped like string, and he burst out of the cage like an enraged lion.

And then he remembered he was still on an island in the middle of the ocean and could not fly.

His excitement and anger left him instantly. What could he do now? He was still stuck on a barren island while his friends were in danger. He was a strong swimmer, that was true, but he had no idea where the nearest islands were and Berk was leagues away. No non-aquatic creature could swim that far without stopping. He would drown or be eaten by eels long before he made it. He might as well have stayed in the cage for all the good his freedom would do him now.

Or maybe not. His gazed turned to the partially sunken ship. He could not hope to make it float again or sail it; that would be impossible for a dragon no matter how intelligent. Still, those planks of wood on the deck were pretty long and if he could just get one loose, he could use it as a kind of raft; something to help him stay afloat in the water. It was a very long shot, he knew. Even if by some miracle he did make it to Berk, he would probably arrive too late.

But the alternative was to stay where he was. Between those two choices his decision was a foregone conclusion. He gave a last, regretful look at the body of Grimm and began to pull at the planks with his claws.

On the _Czernobog_ everybody was bored and impatient. There was nothing to do except wait for the ship to get them to Berk. Drago was watching Hiccup, so in his absence Alvin and several Outcasts started playing a dice game. Dagur sat dully in a corner, looking at them without actually watching. Alvin seemed to be winning all the rounds.

"Odds a-gin!" Alvin laughed, "Pay up!" There were groans as the others handed him their coins.

"You're a rich man now, Chief," one Outcast commented with a smile, likely hoping to stay in his Chief's good books.

"Yeah and jest wait until we loot Berk!" another one said eagerly. "All da mayhem and da deaths and da gold! We'll all be rich!"

"Then we can go home and have some fun with our newest captives!" Another agreed as he put the dice in the cup. "I'll bet odds."

"Same," Alvin said, "Got any in mind, Nosepick?" he asked with a knowing grin and a nudge.

"Roll the dice,"

"Well the black haired one seemed pretty cute."

"Cute and feisty," another said, "she broke me brother's nose,"

"Roll the dice!"

"Which girl was that?"

"Name was Heather, I think,"

"The girl Savage thought was Stoick's daughter?"

"Aye," Alvin said with a perplexed look. "That horn of 'er's bore 'is seal all right, but Stoick's niver 'ad a daughter. Jest the runt we've got locked up below,"

"Roll the dice already!"

They went on with the game and moved to talking about what they would do with their wealth once the battle was over.

Dagur appeared completely indifferent to the conversations, but internally he felt like he had been struck with a hammer.

Adoncia could barely contain her delight as they neared the Sanctuary. After all this time, she was about to discover her beloved Hiccup's greatest secret! The thing he had kept hidden longer than anything else and it was now hers!

"Ah, Mi Amor, if you could only see me now! I wonder what desperate measures you would use to get me to turn around," she smiled at the thought and felt a rush of excitement tingle through her body.

The Razorwhip likewise was equally excited, though for different reasons. It was at last approaching its new domain. Here were the dragons that would tend to its every whim and desire. It called out to them, ordering them to come to the top of the crater and meet it.

Adoncia could see the massive flock on the cliffs and was stunned. The estimations they had made for how many dragons were here had been low. Why, there were so many dragons—it looked like thousands from her position—she thought she could probably conquer the world herself without Drago's help! Anybody could with so many dragons fighting for them! But she drove the thoughts of out her head. She was not out for conquest. Drago could have his revenge and his stupid dreams of controlling the world, she cared nothing for that. What she _did_ care about was enjoying herself. All her life everybody had told her she was steeped in sin from birth. Many had urged her to lock herself away in a convent and spend a lifetime repenting. And she had rebelled. She wanted to indulge in the things that amused her. She had worked with her father to seduce and blackmail for the excitement and intensity of it, to play a dangerous and illegal game that made the heart race, and to see those foolish young men humiliated. And in this current line of work, she was getting all of these things and there was great promise of more to come.

The Dragons on the cliff were perched completely still and silent. The Razorwhip landed in their midst and commanded them to bow to it. Adoncia waved her hand impatiently. "Enough of the formalities, let's get on with it!" She kicked the Razorwhip hard in the side, "give the order!"

" **I will give the order when I choose to**!" the Razorwhip snapped, as though Adoncia could not understand it, " **And I will—** "

Adoncia whipped out her axe and hit her mount very vigorously with the flat side of it. "Ahora!"

" **Oh, fine! Now then, we're leaving this place at once—but first! Destroy this island. All of it. Turn it into a smoldering wreck that can never be lived in again! And as for any dragon that cannot fly or is too young to serve me…kill them all."**

The dragons bowed their heads in obedience.

Toothless knew almost from the moment he slipped into the water that this was hopeless. The wooden plank would keep him floating, but it was still many leagues to Berk. Even if he somehow got there in one piece, he might flop onto the beach and die from exhaustion. But he kept going. It was better than doing nothing at all.

He held the plank in his front paws and kicked hard with his back legs and tail. It was a method he had seen his human use a few times when they had gone swimming. It kept him afloat, but just barely. The waves frequently rose up, sending him sliding down in various directions and typically not the one he wanted to go. Salt water splashed into his eyes and made them sting and whenever he breathed through his mouth seawater flowed into it. Most dragons, including Night Furies, could tolerate drinking salt water, but it was still a very unpleasant feeling to have so much water shoot down your throat at the same instant.

Toothless frequently scanned the skies for help of any kind, and at times he went under to look for Scauldrons or fish. He was starving, and snapped at anything that came his way, which was not much. In fact, he invariably felt that he was hungrier after eating each straying or careless fish than he had been before he had caught it. Still he ate, to keep his strength up if nothing else. And he needed his strength. It was difficult clinging to that plank and even harder propelling it through the water in the direction he wanted to go. His forearms were cramping up and his neck and chest began to ache. He tried to stay positive at first, but inevitably the difficulties he was already encountering and the great distance he still had to go were driving his thoughts to complete despair.

' **This is really the end, isn't it**?' he thought hopelessly, ' **honestly, I never thought I'd go like this. Always hoped Hiccup and I would just retire, find a nice island and just die on the beach one day while watching the sunset together…or more likely a catapult would get a lucky shot and then we'd just quickly fall to our deaths and everything would just go black. I never thought I'd die alone out in the middle of the ocean trying to swim to find my human.'** He suddenly screamed at the heavens, **"Oh, Great Dragons, is there** _ **nobody**_ **out here who could help me?"**

At that moment a giant eel raised its head out of the water.

" **Except for you** ," Toothless groaned.

Consternation had ruled Berk not long ago. Now it had been usurped by pure and unabated fear.

The day before, despite the uneasiness everyone had felt for losing Hiccup and Toothless, and the new ship Drago had, the Vikings had adapted. New plans had been made to wait for Drago to come to them, and they had been busy preparing for it. Even without Hiccup or Marva, they still had seven dragon riders and six dragons, and it was expected that more would be arriving from the Sanctuary soon. This very day it was hoped. The Dragon Riders were all suited up. They had wanted to get going as soon as the Sanctuary flock arrived.

But the expected dragons never came. Something else completely unexpected happened.

Snotlout was out flying as evening fell. Everyone was expecting the Dragons to come and Snotlout, losing patience, had taken to the air to watch for them. He was just gliding around scanning the horizon when without any warning Hookfang went crazy. He spiraled around in the air, ignoring a screaming rider, thrashed around like a raving boar, threw Snotlout off his back and into the ocean, and then flew away westwards.

Astrid had watched from the village with astonishment and rushed to get onto Stormfly, only to have the dragon charge past her. She watched in confusion as the Nadder flew away after Hookfang. Nor did she go alone. Astrid heard a loud noise and got out of the way just in time as Meatlug came barreling towards her and took off. Right behind Meatlug were the other dragons, their Riders right behind them. The Dragons all shot into the air without their riders and flew away.

"Meatlug come back!"

"Barf!"

"Belch!"

"Midnight, where are you going?"

"Shamrock! I know you don't like me much, but if that's what this is about, I'm sorry for shouting at you for what you did to my drawings of Astrid!" Gustav screamed, before realizing what he had just said out loud.

A crowd had gathered by now and watched the sky with increasing dismay. At first, Astrid had thought maybe Hiccup had somehow summoned the dragons to join him. Perhaps he was making some kind of grand entrance for his return, a grand entrance she swore she would clobber him for. But nothing happened. The only person who showed up was Snotlout, who at last emerged from the ocean soaked to the bone, shocked, cold, and outraged that his dragon had ditched him like that.

"I thought Hookfang and I had something special!" he whimpered he wrapped a towel around himself. His words, silly though they might have sounded to those nearby, oddly summarized how the Dragon Riders were feeling right now.

Members from every tribe scanned the sky for what felt like hours, but no dragons came. And all that anyone could do was to try and figure out what had happened without the slightest bit of success.

"Ah knew they were gonna do it," Mildew shouted repeatedly as night fell. "Ah knew it! Jest come in, eat our food, and then de-sert us at the last min-it! We're all dead now, all be-cuz of them dragons and that boy 'Iccup!"

He shut up when Stoick finally threatened to feed him to the next dragon that came by, but his words had left their mark. Nobody really wanted to listen to him, but it was hard not to wonder if he was possibly right.

"So," Snotlout said loudly that night after a cheerless meal, "we're waiting for a madman to come and attack us, he's got a big indestructible ship, our dragons are all gone, and we've got no way of getting more."

Fishlegs was leaning on the table with his face in his folded arms, "That summarizes it very succinctly,"

Spitelout shook his head bitterly, "this is bad,"

"No kidding, Dad,"

"We've lost all we had," Ruffnut said glumly,

"It makes me feel sad," her brother agreed,

"Why are you guys speaking in rhyme?" Fishlegs asked without altering his position or even looking at them.

"To lighten up the mood—or is this a bad time?"

"It _might_ be sublime,"

"But seriously, Fishlegs, at the moment, I'd say humor is all we've got left," Ruffnut added bitterly.

"Now that we are bereft—" Ruffnut hit her brother in the nose, "all right, I'll stop it!"

At last Spitelout stood up and gestured for Snotlout to come with him. They went outside and made their way back home. "Well, dad, if you've got any ideas, now's a good time to tell me,"

Spitelout just looked up at the sky and shook his head angrily. "Them dragons got us inta this mess, them and 'Iccup. Why couldn't that boy have jest died years ago?"

"You know, I used to wonder that myself," Snotlout laughed, hiding his horror of Spitelout's wish, "but nope! He always clung to life somehow! But seriously, dad, blaming Hiccup won't help us now,"

"No it won't," Astrid had caught up to them and for once, Snotlout did not try to flirt with her. "I just got done with a meeting with Stoick and the other Chiefs,"

Spitelout was indignant, "Why weren't we invited? We're 'is family—the only _true_ family 'e's got!"

"That right there is exactly why you weren't invited—he thought you'd spend the whole time insulting Hiccup and not contribute anything helpful,"

Snotlout jumped in to prevent an argument, "so what's the plan, Astrid?"

"The same as before, only no dragons are to be counted on now,"

"No kiddin'" Spitelout grumbled,

"And because we've got no dragons now we can't mount a rescue," Astrid added bitterly.

Spitelout kicked a rock and stomped away. Snotlout ran after him shouting something. Astrid ignored them and walked to her own home feeling considerably dejected and not at all reassured by the news plans.

Less than a week ago she had felt like this was the beginning of something great. That night where Hiccup and Toothless vanished they had taken all of her hopes with them except the hope of rescuing him. Now things had gotten even worse and she could not explain why or figure out what to do about it. She already missed Stormfly, was worried about her, was outraged that all that time training with her now appeared to have been wasted, was even more outraged that someone had taken her, for she would not believe that Stormfly had left voluntarily, and was more than worried about the future of Berk, of her family, of herself! Dear Odin, now she knew how Hiccup had felt the evening before they had left to look at that monstrous ship. She felt as though all the worries of the world were now on her shoulders.

Her parents were inside. Olaf had been at the meeting with her and was informing his wife about the new developments, and he was not very happy about them by the sound of it.

"So we still sit around and wait for them to come to us!" he fumed, "I didn't like the idea to begin with and I don't like it any better now!"

"Olaf, do you really think we'd have a chance against that ship?"

"I'm not afraid of a single ship! And that's not the point; the point is we are completely surrendering the initiative! An army that stays on the defensive forever will end up surrendering! We're letting Drago choose the time and place to attack us, and all we're doing is sitting around in endless suspense waiting while he makes his own plans! And now we've lost the dragons! Good gods, I thought Hiccup came back to _help_ us, not leave us in the lurch like this!"

"Don't go blaming Hiccup for this!" Astrid shouted from the doorway, "Why is everyone so eager to blame him? He could be _dead_ for all we know!" She stormed off to her room, leaving her father stunned at the outburst.

She sat down on her bed and looked out the window. There was the faintest sliver of a moon shining outside now. Her mind drifted back to that night of star gazing at the Sanctuary. It seemed like a lifetime ago once, and now it seemed like a millennium ago.

What in the name of Odin was happening? What in the name of Odin was _going_ to happen?

The Sanctuary was exactly what the Razorwhip had ordered it to be. A smoldering wreck. Smoke from the burned foliage and destroyed nests rose over it, making it look as it might have during the island's eruption days. The cliffs were now jagged, broken, and in many places crumbling into the sea, or into what was left of the lagoon. Pathways and trees were wiped out as if a landslide had gone through them, and in many cases this was exactly what had happened.

Every cave had been collapsed, smashing whatever happened to be inside it. The objects in the King's own room had been burned, at the special demand of Adoncia. The inventions that had survived the most intact had been turned into scrap metal; the ones that had survived the worst were indistinguishable from the remains of other things. The room that had sheltered Astrid received no special treatment, but was, like all the other rooms, turned into a giant pile of rubble.

Hundreds of dead dragons, most of them infants, were littered around the base of crater or buried under the great wreckage. Almost none hatchlings had had a chance. Sometimes they were ignored and merely left underneath outcrops that were then collapsed on them. In other cases they had been deliberately killed by other dragons, sometimes their own parents. The dragons committing the act had no idea of what they were doing—such was the power over their minds that the Beta had. They killed and destroyed with no more thought than they would if they were killing fish.

"Drago would love to hear the screams of those little ones," Adoncia said. She was enjoying it too. "See what it's like to be alone and abandoned and mistreated by everyone else while still a child? Too bad you lot are too weak to survive like I did," She turned to the Razorwhip, "all right, this has taken long enough. Let's get going!"

The Razorwhip called out and the flock followed. Aside from Adoncia and the new Beta, none of them realized they left behind what was left of their home, a home they had spent years in the making of, and yet had destroyed it within a few hours. Forgotten was any sense of loyalty to the man who had helped them build it. Forgotten were his ideas for peace and coexistence with humans. None of them realized they had murdered their own children and left them buried under rocks or lying for the seagulls to scavenge. None of them knew that a group of six dragons were coming to join them and that another dragon far away on the ocean was trying to join them. None of them were aware of where they were going or why they were going there. All they knew was the Beta had ordered and they had obeyed.

And the Sanctuary and its weaker inhabitants had paid the final price for their obedience.


	30. Chapter 30

**I own nothing**

 **All rights reserved**

 **Chapter 30**

 **The Morning**

In the Jorgenson household breakfast was silent and somber. Snotlout especially was in a glum mood, which perplexed Spitelout. The last time he had seen his son in such low spirits was when his mother had died—a perfectly understandable time to be depressed. But Spitelout could not understand why his son was acting so dejected now.

"I'm worried about Hookfang," Snotlout said when his father finally asked him what had gotten into him.

"Why are ya be worryin' 'bout that beast?"

"He hasn't come back! He's still missing! Why shouldn't I worry about him?"

Spitelout smiled archly, "Son, we're alone. Ya don't need ta keep the act up fer me. And frankly, after what jest 'appened, ah would say maybe ya need ta rethink yer tactics. Ah doubt people will be too fond of dragons after this, and as fer bein' the second in command ta 'Iccup, 'e's not gonna make Chief if 'e doesn't git 'imself down here soon!" Spitelout laughed, "Ya know, son, if Astrid backs out now, ya could still become Chief!"

"Is that all you think about, Dad? And by the way, I thought you said to always assume we're being watched."

"True, but ya don't 'ave ta pretend fer me. Ah know yer only sidin' with them dragons as an act, ya don't need ta worry 'bout the beast bein' missin'."

Snotlout swallowed. "Actually, Dad, the fact is, I'm not acting."

"Say what?"

"I'm not pretending to worry about Hookfang, I _am_ worried about him!"

Spitelout's expression was turning dangerous. "Did that demon lover git ta you too, Snotlout?"

"Not exactly—you could say I went to him," Snotlout sighed, "Dad, I did think at first of just pretending to take his side, but…well, I _liked_ riding a dragon and I liked Hookfang. He was a lot of fun to be with. And as for Hiccup, I know we were big rivals for a very long time, but on Berserk he put it all behind him to help us get out, and I felt I should do the same. As for being Chief, come on Dad, open your eyes, why would Stoick make _me_ Chief now? Heck, he probably never intended to make me Chief! Who here on Berk has ever _wanted_ me to be Chief besides you and Dogsbreath and Hognose and Mildew—a nice group of supporters! Didn't you see everyone rejoicing when Stoick proclaimed Astrid as the new Heir? Dad, I'm tired of playing this part, I just wanna ride my dragon and go on cool adventures, not be the focus of everyone's scorn and disgust!" He looked warily at his father, who was trembling with anger.

"So all o' it was a lie?"

"No, not all of it…not exactly, anyway,"

"Git out," Spitelout growled,

Snotlout exploded. "So that's how this is, is it? Welcome me as long as I lie to you and throw me out once I tell the truth? Sheesh, maybe Hiccup had the right idea to leave home!"

"GIT OUT!" Spitelout roared,

"Have you ever actually cared about _me_ , Dad?" Snotlout shouted back.

"I SAID GIT—" They both froze when they realized someone was pounding frantically on the door. Spitelout stormed over to it, "WOT?"

Fishlegs suddenly felt incredibly small and timid as he looked at the enraged Jorgenson but he ignored his personal feelings. "Sir, you might be interested to know that Drago's ship has arrived and Stoick wants everyone to man their positions at once!"

The _Czernobog_ turned out to be not quite as seaworthy as it appeared. The engines, or whatever fueled them at any rate, were extremely temperamental and stopped or started at random. The ship listed and heaved on occasion too. Hiccup at one point commented loudly "that boat of Noah's would have been easier to steer!" Either the _Czernobog_ had not been meant for voyages in the opened sea, or perhaps it had been rushed into service before all its defects were fixed. As a means of scaring the opponent and carrying a large body of troops, however, the _Czernobog_ was without peer.

Hiccup had no idea of where they were or what time it was. At one point Drago had retired, presumably to get some sleep, and Alvin had filled the position of watching him the entire time. Hiccup had nothing to say to Alvin so they passed the time in silence, and they continued passing the time in silence when Drago returned. Though he did his utmost not to show it, he was worried sick about what was going to happen now.

Finally, after what felt like days to him, Marva came down and said that Adoncia had returned and she had not come alone.

"Finally!" Drago scowled, "she'd better have good news!"

"Oh she does, sir!" Marva said quickly, "Very good news. I'd say now we don't need the runt alive anymore!"

"Oh we don't, do we?"

"No sir, so why don't I just—"

A new messenger came down, informing Drago that the ship was about to arrive at its destination.

"It's time then," Drago said to himself. "Marva, you watch the runt. He'll make a good hostage if things go badly, so I want him alive—for now. That door is not to be opened for _any_ reason, understood?"

"Yes sir,"

Drago marched away confidently while Marva started pacing outside Hiccup's cell impatiently.

"I hope you realize that thanks to _you_ , Useless, I'm going to be missing out on the great battle!"

"My sincerest apologies,"

"You'll be ever sorrier when I put a sword through you!"

"Do it now. I dare you. Or is committing murder too much for someone of your strength and temperament?" he taunted. If she tried to kill him she would have to open the door. He knew he was no match for Drago or Alvin in his one-legged state, but Marva was another matter.

"No. Drago gave clear orders."

Nuts. He opted to change the subject. "So, we've reached Berk?"

"Yes. And you're as close to it as you're ever going to get!" she laughed.

"Marva, don't you realize that in this 'great' battle your father is on the opposite side?" Hiccup shouted.

"That's his problem. He made his choice. He'll have to pay the price for it. You turned against your own father, you know. _You_ chose the opposite side!"

"I never fought against him like this!"

"No, and that's because you're pathetic and weak! You had all kinds of power to do whatever you wanted, but you were too scared to use it!"

"Unchecked power is poison! You know what, why am I even bothering? You became a hopeless case ages ago."

"You've been a hopeless case all your life, though there's not much left of that now! How do you plan to get out of there, huh! Not even Changewing acid could eat through the hull of this ship! It's impregnable! A testament to Drago's invincibility, wouldn't you say?" She laughed.

"Oh I don't know," Hiccup said lazily. Maybe if he got her angry enough she would come inside.

Marva sneer at him. "You're just trying to save face and pretend you're not really in a helpless position. Ha! You've got no metal leg to hide stuff in this time! You're a prisoner in every sense of the word! Say—shall I tell you what Adoncia told me about the time you were her prisoner?"

"Marva—"

"Trapped in those dark cells helpless to escape the whip?"

"Marva, stop it!" He could feel his body starting to shake.

"Feeling the dried blood on your back split open again?"

"Stop it! STOP IT!"

The giant eel lunged at Toothless. Toothless waited until the last second and then rolled out of the way. The eel moved with him and grabbed him by the hind leg. Toothless, instead of trying to pull away, twisted around and flung his claws around the eel's neck.

They rolled around in the water. The eel tried to drag Toothless under but Toothless tightened his grip on its neck. The eel then tried to wrap its coils around the dragon but the dragon tightened his grip even further. The eel let go of Toothless's leg and tried to bite the dragon in the face, but Toothless readied a plasma blast and the creature then decided there was easier prey to hunt for. But Toothless would not let it go.

" **Now you listen here! You are taking me to Berk—I'll tell you which direction to go. Cooperate and I'll let you go and never kill an eel again. But try any tricks with me and fish will be feeding on your headless carcass! Got it? Good! Now let's get going!** "

He could not tell if the eel actually understood him, so if it ever turned the wrong way he tightened his grip on its neck. It was not long before the creature was speeding straight towards Berk with Toothless in tow.

" **I'm coming, Hiccup! I'm coming**!"

Stoick looked out to sea and saw the massive ship the Dragon Riders had described to him. Gort was standing beside him with a grim expression on his face at the sight.

"They weren't exaggerating," Stoick calmly remarked to him.

"I wonder if Hiccup and Marva on that thing?" Gort said, as if there was nothing else to worry about.

Stoick had been worried sick about his son, but he knew now was not the time for that. Now was the time for preparing for the attack to come and he hoped they were ready. He was. He had his best weapons at his belt, cleaned and sharpened.

Bertha came over to them. "My daughter has been using one of the spy glasses Hiccup designed for us." During the last council of war Hiccup had shown them some sketches, including one where a barrel was turned into a large spyglass. "She says there are a multitude of dragons on the decks of that ship."

"That was to be expected," Stoick said heavily, "I don't want to fight them, after all that Hiccup's said and done, but we will defend ourselves." He shook hands with Bertha and Gort. "Look after yourselves, and I'll see you at our victory celebration tonight. Now let's see to those catapults."

"Repeta, por favor." Adoncia said sharply. " _No_ dragons?"

"Not for this battle," Drago said flatly. "They will stay on the ship."

"I object,"

"About _what_ , Adoncia?"

"I'm taking my Razorwhip into combat. You owe it to me."

"And what if the dragon gets killed?"

"If you think I can't look after my own mount—"

"I am not risking the loss of the Beta!"

"There will be no risk! What chance has any Viking out there got against a dragon covered in metal? And Drago, if you refuse to let us go into battle, I will have the Beta send your dragon army away for good!"

"NO! You can fight yourself, if you're so desperate, but the dragon stays here!" Drago shouted. She was getting too annoying, he decided. He would get rid of her as soon as this fight was over. Let her have the runt as a reward, then kill them while they were making love. Or maybe she would die in battle.

He had several reasons for not wanting the dragons in this battle. The main thing was he wanted to conserve his army of dragons now that he had it. Yes, he could just have the dragons burn Berk to the ground, but he felt Berk would be expecting that. He guessed they had been preparing for dragon attacks, so he would give them a purely man to man battle. In fact, he hoped that this battle would wipe out his allies as well as enemies. Let every other army get destroyed in this fight and then he would leave a destroyed island with his unharmed army of dragons and pursue his goals unhindered by fools.

He stormed over to the helmsman and shouted "Is the ship in position yet?"

"Almost sir,"

"Excellent!" Drago turned to have a look for himself. The _Czernobog_ was heading towards the island. It would only be a matter of minutes. "You understand your orders, yes?"

"Yes sir. Once everyone's off, we pull out and sail back to a safe distance until you signal to us."

"Good," the _Czernobog_ was another thing he did not want to risk losing or falling into enemy hands.

Astrid could have told Stoick that his confidence was not mirrored among the troops. They were mostly edgy, anxious for the fight to begin. Above all, they were deeply impressed by the sight of that ship which had a huge flock of dragons on it.

"Think we can fight them off?"

"I don't know. I'm outta shape,"

"I'd rather be stealing something,"

Camicazi was standing beside Astrid and shook her head. "People are sometimes a flock of sheep, you know? Not one ounce of courage."

"Oh they're courageous all right," Astrid said loudly, "Once they get over the surprise they'll be ready for anything!" Her words either went unheard or had no effect, for the uneasy muttering continued.

"We won't last a day against that thing,"

"And who knows what's inside of it? Basilisks, giant trolls and spiders, maybe even the Kraken?"

"I wish Hookfang were here," Snotlout whimpered, "Better yet I wish we had another thousand Vikings,"

That was enough, Astrid decided. "Who said that?" She asked loudly enough to get everyone's attention. "Snotlout, did I hear you wishing we had more men?"

This should probably be left to Stoick, but he had enough to worry about. "Much as I might wish it too, let's face the facts! No more are coming. But I'm not saying this to demoralize us but to make us look the danger in the face and see it for what it truly is. And the pure truth is we will not be receiving more help now. Our futures and the futures of all our tribes depend upon us alone today."

She looked at her comrades in a way that made each one feel she was addressing them directly. "But is that a reason to despair? Is the responsibility too great for our shoulders? Our great forefathers have achieved miracles and feats that have become legendary, yet they were humans like us. Have we grown weaker over the years, or have we learned by their examples to make ourselves their equals and superiors, to make ourselves worthy of the efforts and sacrifices that they have made?"

She paused to let this sink in, and was relieved to see her comrades were shaking their heads vigorously. "I am just as nervous as anyone. I do not want to die and leave before my work here is finished, to leave my friends and family behind grieving while I journey to Valhalla. But I will not allow fear to rule me! That is what the enemy wants and I will be dead a hundred times over before I let my enemy rule over me! So to Drago and his men, who think to make me shake in my boots, I think I shall remove these boots and fling their mud and manure covered heels at their ugly mugs!" A loud laugh went up at this. "They want us to fear them because deep down they fear _us_! They laugh at us and scorn us but deep down they fear that we will defeat them as they would like to defeat us!"

She made her way to the top of a crate, so she would be easier to see. "When the anniversary of today comes again in the future, people will remember it as they remember their weddings and the births of their firstborns. Long after the rain washes away the blood from the sand, they will walk along those beaches with their grandchildren and say 'here is where I got these wounds. And there is where we drove them back into the sea.' Centuries from now, when our descendents mingle they will ask each other 'did your ancestors fight in that great battle?' and consider those who do not to be unworthy company! And Vikings across the Archipelago will hear about what has happened in the coming weeks and regret they had stayed at home, missing the greatest chance of their lives to sign their names onto this page of history! For if we win today, we make history! Winning today shows the world that Drago and his army, made up of the brute, the rapist, the bribed, the murderer, and the slave, is no match for tribes of friends and families, made up of the honorable, the brave, and the caring! You know Drago believes that willpower alone is all that is needed to triumph—and we are going to prove him right! We are going to show him that we, the outnumbered side, with our weapons marked with the Rune of Victory, have the stronger will to succeed and he is going to regret that he ever went up against the Hairy Hooligans, the Owl Guts, and the Bog Burglars!" The loudest cheer she ever knew rose from the crowd.

"Bring it on!"

"Let them come, we'd win if we had _half_ the number we do now!"

"I'm with you, Astrid!"

"I'll fight alone if nobody else will!"

"I'll show _you_ willpower, Drago What's-his-fist!"

"Drago Dud-Fist and his demented drove of dopes!" Snotlout shouted, attempting poetry once again, making everyone laugh once more.

"Nice speech," Olaf Hofferson commented as Astrid joined him.

"Was it a bit long? I thought it might have been too long."

"Just a little, but the ending was rousing." He chuckled. "And you're right: we're going to lick them today!" he said this loudly and more cheers rang out.

But laughs and improved morale did not change the fact that the _Czernobog_ was approaching the island and getting closer.

Many, many leagues away from any of this, the dragon trapping boat helmed by the manly Eret Son of Eret pulled into port.

A tall balding man with an equally strong build approached him. "So you've come back, have you?"

"Yes we have," Eret replied, "my crew and I are willing to offer our services in exchange for standard pay and protection from Drago Bludvist,"

"You'll have to wait before my brother agrees on that last one,"

"Why?"

"You haven't heard?" the man asked incredulously,

"We've been at sea and making repairs for quite some time," Eret was lying about the repairs. The truth was they had gone on longer searching for more dragons without success.

"Word is he's about to fight the Dragon King. They might be fighting already. Until word of the outcome reaches us my brother won't do a thing that might displease Drago."

"Understandable, but my money is on the Dragon King."

"And I'll wager you'll lose it. Thanks to my brother, Drago now has the most powerful ship in existence. It can withstand any dragon or weapon known to us. We're even thinking of building some for ourselves," he grinned toothily at the idea.

Eret shrugged his shoulders. "Ryker, you can tell your brother from me my crew and I are only interested in staying alive. I don't really care who wins. I'm sure he'd consider that to be a form of good business,"

In his cell, Hiccup was still having a fit, much to Marva's delight. How long this had been going on for he had no idea. Time had no meaning there. All he could see in his mind were those days in that cell in Spain. Over and over again they came to him, making him tremble and scream as he remembered. And Marva was enjoying every minute of it.

"This almost makes missing the battle worth it!" she laughed, "Do you think Adoncia will bring you Astrid's headless body?"

Hiccup only heard the name. His memories shifted to the time in the cells in Berserk. He remembered one of the main reasons he had let himself get caught: he had hoped that if it did come to torture, that they would hurt him and not Astrid.

And now she was in danger on Berk! The woman he loved, along with his father and friends, and his dragons! His tribe, his allies, the people who he had gotten into this mess! They were all in danger, possibly dead, they needed his help, and here he was lying in a cell, letting himself be tormented by a bunch of bad memories and a disagreeable woman! His mind focused and a grim sense of determination came to him. But he kept rolling around on the floor and moaning.

Marva laughed at him again and began to make even more suggestions about the dead bodies Adoncia and Drago would bring back. Hiccup rolled himself over to the door. He grabbed the bars and pulled himself up onto his one foot while screaming "let me outta here! Let me outta here!"

On the other side of the door Marva laughed again and came closer, so that their faces were almost touching. "This is so pathetic it's hilarious! It's a wonder Drago's even bothering with you!" And she spat in his face to show her contempt for him.

He suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him—right into the bars of the cell door. He did it again, and again, and she fell onto the floor in a heavy daze.

"Ouch," Hiccup commented, "I'm not sorry."

He took off his belt and detached the buckle from the leather strap. "The first rule to escape," he said as if giving a lecture to unseen students, "is to always have two separate means of opening doors. In my case, a picklock hidden in the prosthetic that Drago took away from me—and two small vials of Naga-Raja acid concealed inside my belt buckle." He opened one of the vials and carefully poured its contents, a red noxious smelling liquid, on the lock of the door. "Never heard of Naga-Raja dragons, have you, Marva? Well, I'm not surprised. They're a Changewing relative that lives in India. Only two kinds of metal are known to withstand their acid and regular iron isn't one of them. One metal that _is_ happens to be Gronkle Iron, which these vials are made of. " He pushed the door opened and crawled out. "Thanks for giving me a ride back to Berk. Sorry, Dogsbreath, but we drink what we brew. Goodbye."

The _Czernobog_ had gotten as close as it possibly could to Berk without running aground. The Vikings could see a multitude of dragons clustered around the top deck and were relieved—and confused—that they remained where they were.

The front of the ship began to lower like a giant black drawbridge. And as it lowered the Hairy Hooligans, Owl Guts, and Bog Burglars could see the warriors inside waiting to come charging out.

Author's Note: I was honestly not expecting such an outpouring of emotion over Chapter 29, but I am glad it got the reactions it did. The reasons for why I did what I did are this: one, I wanted to show some of the worst aspects of war, and two, the good guys have to take losses in order for this to be realistic. I know it's horrible; that's why I wrote those scenes.

There are only three more chapters to go now. The next two will be posted on November 14th. I have yet to determine the final chapter's posting date.

A little trivia: first, the reason why Astrid wonders if her speech was too long is because originally it _was_ too long! The first draft was nearly 2 pages long and went into a huge amount of detail on the runes that Vikings put on their weapons, as well as more examples of things already stated. I realized after finishing it that this would bore people, not inspire them.

Second, I mentioned earlier about the meaning behind the name Czernobog, but I did not mention how I came to pick that name in the first place. In the Disney movie _Fantasia_ , in the "Night on Bald Mountain" segment, there is a huge black demon who commands the unholy spirits. That demon is sometimes referred to as the Devil himself, but officially its name is Chernobog. _Fantasia_ happens to be my favorite movie.

Now, some people expressed confusion over the Alphas and Betas. I have explained this in previous chapters, but let me see if I can give the rundown here:

First, the most powerful Dragon of all is the Alpha. This dragon can command any dragon in existence if it chooses to. There is only ever one Alpha at a time, and the current one has not been seen or heard of for some 400 years. Even the dragons in the story have no idea where the Alpha is or what has become of it.

Below the Alpha are the Betas—the Red Death in the first movie was one of these and by defeating it Toothless took its place. He later lost it to Grimm, who then lost it to the Razorwhip. Like the Alpha, Betas have mind control powers, as well as authority over every dragon in their nest, but their range is limited and such powers only work on dragons in their own nest. When a new Beta takes over, all dragons the previous Beta had control over are now subject to the new Beta's control—provided they are within the range of its powers. For dragons that are not part of the nest, the Beta has no power over them until they make eye contact. So for example, if Cloudjumper came across the Razorwhip right now, as long as the two never made eye contact, the Razorwhip would have no control over him. The limits to these mind powers do not apply to the Alpha: the Alpha can control the mind of any dragon it wishes without ever making eye contact—but it has to want to do so.

The most common transfer of power occurs when a dragon challenges the current leader. This often happens when newcomers arrive to take over a nest. When this happens, all the Beta's or Alpha's powers of control are lost to it; it wields no more authority than any other dragon. At such times, all dragons previously under its control are free to do as they please, whether that is assist it, refuse assistance, or flee. These contests do not have to be to the death, but they often end that way. Such contests can also be rigged or thrown. For instance, Grimm took the Beta position from Toothless because Toothless allowed himself to be defeated. But this seldom happens.

The only other way to transfer power is when a Beta or Alpha dies by some means other than in battle with a challenger, such as when killed by disease, age, or humans. In the case of a Beta dying without a successor, most nests simply split apart, with dragons going their own ways and joining new nests under different Betas. In the case of the Alpha, the first Beta to claim the position becomes the new Alpha. None of these powers are genetic or can be inherited by offspring.

Now please keep in mind I made most of this up. The filmmakers of the HTTYD series have never explained the mind control powers very clearly, to my knowledge at any rate, so I had to invent these things to meet certain plot points.


	31. Chapter 31

**I Own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **A lot of times when I'm stuck on how to write something, I watch certain clips to get inspiration. In these next two chapters I watched four different types of footage: the battle of Helms Deep from** _ **Lord of the Rings**_ **, a tiger fight at a zoo, a ship blowing up, and many of the lightsaber duels in the** _ **Star Wars**_ **movies. Not to copy or plagiarize, but to get me in the right mood and mindset.**

 **Chapter 31**

 **The Battle**

Drago's army was a motley collection but fighters to the core, and as soon as the giant ramp was low enough they charged out of the _Czernobog_ screaming loud battle cries and waving their weapons wildly. Through the shallows they splashed as quickly as they possibly could. Meantime, on Berk, the crossbows were loaded and ready. On Bertha's command they opened fire.

A fierce volley of arrows cut through the air. It was followed by another and another. Arrows were flying thick as rain in a downpour. The defenders could feel them whipping past their hair, a bit too close for comfort. None of the attackers stopped to fire back; they only held their shields in front of them and continued the charge. Some shields in the front were literally pierced with a dozen arrows. Drago was in the lead, roaring like a lion, with Alvin not far behind him. Dagur had yet to disembark. More volleys were let loose, but the crossbows took time to load, even when there were rows of archers. The attackers were being pinned down but slowly and surely began to make their way up the beach.

"Spears at the ready!" Stoick roared, "Fire!"

The only attackers in the front ranks who were standing now were those who had shields and knew how to use them. But there was still a multitude coming out of the _Czernobog_. Too many to drive off with just arrows. The new waves pushed right through their cut up comrades and kept coming forward at full speed. Still, they were paying heavily for it, much more than the defending Vikings were.

The first rank of attackers came rushing forward and at last got off the beach. They charged forward eagerly over large piles of sand—and fell screaming into a deep trench they had not seen until it was too late.

"Hurray for Boar Pits!" Tuffnut shouted from his position on top of a house.

"That's not a Boar Pit, stupid!" His sister shouted back.

"Well it _should_ be! And it would've been if Stoick had let us dig it!" He threw some rocks at the men trying to climb out of the trench. "I tell ya, Sis, if I was in charge of defending this place, those guys would never know what hit 'em!"

"You mean the guys on our side or the enemy?"

"Good point! I'll have to think about that one."

By this point everyone had disembarked the _Czernobog_. For Stoick, Bertha, and Gort, that was a sign of relief, for it meant Drago had no more troops except the Dragons. But the Dragons remained on top of the ship and showed no sign that they were going to attack Berk—with one exception. With a loud roar a Razorwhip swooped down right behind the defenders and swung its spiked tail at them. Adoncia was on its back and was screaming hysterically, ignoring the arrows that shot past her as they plunged into the back ranks of the Berkians. Her Razorwhip was flinging spines and shooting fire at every opportunity, and anyone who got too close got hacked up by Adoncia's sword and axe, which she was swinging like a murderous lunatic. Then, before the Vikings could organize and bring them down with overwhelming firepower, the Spaniard and her dragon jumped back into the sky.

"See? Told ya them dragons are danger to us!" Spitelout shouted to nobody in particular.

"Yeah, and I'd feel a lot better having them on _our_ side!" Someone, possibly Snotlout, it was hard to tell, shouted back.

Dagur was near Alvin at that stage of the fight and he looked confused. "Why aren't those dragons joining the fight?"

"Who cares?" Alvin jeered, "We kill Drago an' Dancy an' survive an' we've got it made!"

The problem with that was Drago and Adoncia were both in the thick of the action. It would be hard enough just getting over to them. Drago had seen that Adoncia had disobeyed his direct orders not to bring the Razorwhip into battle, but there was nothing to be done about it now except fight and win.

Now that every soldier had exited, the remaining crew on the Czernobog raised its great ramp and put its engines into reverse. Most on Berk were too busy fighting to notice it move out to sea. Two people who did were the Twins. As they were not very good fighters, they had taken up a position on a rooftop where they could throw things at the attackers, but they became preoccupied with watching the _Czernobog_.

"Look at that amazing monster of a boat, Sis," Tuffnut said reverently,

"Yes indeed, Brother, it is truly amazing."

"If only we could somehow blow it up!"

"If only indeed!"

"If only we had some more of that powder Hiccup gave us," the plan to collect that combustible powder had been ruined when Hiccup had gone missing, for it was stored on the Sanctuary and only Hiccup had known the island's location. And though nobody knew it, the point had become moot not long ago.

"If only we had some means to get there,"

Their longing eyes fell on a row boat tied to one of the deserted side docks and an evil grin came to their faces.

"After you, Sis,"

"Why thank you, Brother,"

By this point out on Berk any sense of tactics had been abandoned. Now it was simply a matter of stabbing the nearest enemy and moving on to the next one, and whoever held out the longest would be the victor.

Adoncia had dismounted the Razorwhip and was dancing around the field waving her sword like a baton. She had thrown the axe into a Viking and had been unable to retrieve it. For Astrid, who was already covered in sweat, such a sight was more than she could stand and she forced and fought her way towards the Spaniard.

"Ah!" Adoncia laughed as she blocked the Valkyrie's axe and countered with a swing of her sword. "You must be Astrid!" It now occurred to both of them that even though they knew each other all too well by reputation, they had never actually met before. "Hiccup will be so upset to hear of your death, Mi Hermana!"

Instead of despairing at this or feeling intimidated, Astrid felt a surge of hope that Hiccup was still alive. It must have showed, for Adoncia scowled at her.

"Oh, are you in _love_ with him? That's so sweet! Too bad you'll never see him again!"

"Then why haven't you killed her yet?" Camicazi came out of nowhere and leapt onto Adoncia, sending both of them into the ground. Astrid raised her axe, but the Razorwhip suddenly appeared and shot spines at her. She ducked in time, but thanks to the distraction Adoncia had managed to roll away and get up. Astrid threw herself in front of Camicazi, who was getting to her feet, and blocked the death blow Adoncia had been about to deliver. Her sword scrapped against Astrid's axe. Astrid threw it off and kicked Adoncia hard in the chest.

The children of Berk and those who could not fight had been sent to stay in a cave on a beach on the opposite side of the island. A handful of warriors to protect them and a few moored ships were ready in case they had to flee. For most it was even worse than being in battle, for they while they could hear the fight raging they had no idea of how it or any of their loved ones were managing. Some wanted to join in the fight, and that included Astrid's students, especially Ase and Peer.

"I wanna help!" Peer shouted, but his mother was restraining him.

"You can help our warriors best by not getting in their way!" his mother scolded him, as she tried to not cry. She had fallen down some stairs and broken her leg two weeks before; otherwise she would have been in the battle herself alongside her husband.

Ase meantime was running around frantically asking everyone if they thought her parents were all right. Everybody was reassuring, but nobody believed for a moment they were telling the truth and everybody prayed to every God they could think of that they were telling the truth.

Stoick had been fighting with all his might. Even at his point in life few men had such strong arms, as the heads and bodies of a fair amount of Berserkers, Outcasts, and Hysterics could attest to. Then he spotted Alvin the Outcast striking down a Bog Burglar. His temper flared and he ran towards him.

"'Ello, Stoick!" Alvin cackled gleefully as he brandished his axe, "Wanna die?"

Stoick's response was to hit Alvin in the face with his hammer. Alvin at once dropped the humor and a vicious fight began between the two men. Both were evenly matched in terms of strength, and it showed, for neither could get an advantage over the other.

That all changed unexpectedly when the position they maneuvered into had Alvin facing the ocean. Something out at sea caught his attention and he stared at it in astonishment for a second too long.

"Wot the—?" was all he got out before Stoick landed a terrific blow to Alvin's stomach. Alvin rolled onto the ground. Stoick could have killed him then, but his own warrior code forbade killing an opponent like this, and, more to the point, he now saw what had distracted Alvin and was equally astonished by it. Toothless the Night Fury was dragging himself out of the sea and onto the beach.

Not far from the shore Toothless had let go of the eel, thanked it as best as he could, and made his way onto Berk at last. " **I challenge! Where's that Razorwhip**? **Where's that—A-HA**!" He spread his wings and rose to his full height. " **I challenge you**!"

The Razorwhip heard the challenge and flew over to him, ignoring Adoncia's protests. " **Come to die like the Skrill, flightless one**?"

" **You're dealing with me this time, tin lizard! Me, the Unholy Offspring of DEATH**!" He shot plasma at his foe's face and charged at it. His words had already had the desired effect.

Far over on the _Czernobog_ , the massive flock of dragons had been sitting like statues, barely reacting to anything. It had been the orders of the Beta. But now that the Beta was challenged its mind power had no effect on them any longer. It was as though they were all snapping out of trances or waking up from a heavy sleep.

Then one dragon looked towards Berk and shrieked. They had all known that a battle had been raging this whole time, yet it had not really registered in their minds. But now it did. Now they could see with outrage what was happening to the humans the Hatchling had tried to get them to be friends with. Now they could remember with horror what they had done to their nest and their own hatchlings. Loud screams and shrieks rang out. Others began roaring furiously. The eyes of many blazed with rage. And, with Stormfly and Midnight in the lead, they leapt off the ship's deck and flew for Berk. And this was exactly what Toothless had been hoping for when he challenged the Razorwhip.

It was amazing how determined the Twins could be when they had a fixed purpose in mind. In this case the plan was to get to the ship and find a way to blow it up. Oh yes, and possibly find Hiccup if they could, but they had priorities, and the prospect of destroying that monster of iron was so appealing to them they rowed their stolen boat with great power and swiftness. And yet the _Czernobog_ was still quite a ways away.

As they got closer to the ship they looked up and saw the dragons above them.

"What do you suppose they're doing?"

"No idea," Ruffnut prayed it was not Drago's doing but feared deep down that it was.

At that moment a Zippleback dove down towards their boat.

"Barf n' Belch!" the Twins shouted. The dragon chortled in delight to see its humans again.

"How about a lift?" Ruffnut asked, "Get us to that big monster and let's destroy it!"

The Zippleback was more than happy to oblige.

A few hours ago Dagur had once again been thinking of the simple life, but now that he was in battle his deranged side took over. He reveled in battle and bloodshed, he went around laughing, and he swung his sword at anything that came his way, friend or foe. One of the foes he came upon was Spitelout. In his battle state of mind Dagur did not recognize him. Spitelout was in a similar mindset and the two lunged at each other like maniacs before Dagur got him in the chest.

As the ship came to a halt at last, Hiccup crawled along the floor. Undignified, perhaps, but since he only had one foot, it was easier and faster for him to move on his hands and knees. Dagur had mentioned his equipment was in the armory, so he would have to find it. He just prayed he would not be caught.

A sudden noise made him freeze. He heard footsteps approaching in his direction and groaned while trying to calculate how many he could take with him.

"Well, well, well," Ruffnut grinned, poking him in the back with her sword, "what have we here?"

"Boy am I glad to see you!" Hiccup laughed, weak with relief.

"The feelings mutual," Ruffnut replied, "So what's the plan? Can we blow stuff up?"

"First could you _help me up_?"

She at least knew when to be semi-serious, "where's your leg?"

"In the armory with the rest of my stuff. We need to get there now."

"Can do—and then?"

"Then we—is Tuffnut here?"

"Of course, he's right—!" She looked behind her and then realized that Tuffnut was not present. "Oh no where'd he go?"

"We'll look as we make our way to the armory, come on!"

"Do you even know where this armory is?" Ruffnut asked,

"Haven't a clue,"

"That's the way to do it, Fellow Disciple of Loki!"

Tuffnut had somehow gotten separated from his twin sister and was wandering around the ship, lost but not duly concerned about being lost. The way he saw it, since he did not know where he was going, he could not be lost, because being lost implies you cannot find your way to your destination and he did not know his destination, ergo, he was not lost. At least, that was how it worked in his mind as he wandered around the dark and narrow corridors.

He became aware of a loud squawking noise down at one end of the corridor and impulsively went over to investigate. He entered a room and saw a man at a table with a giant cleaver in one hand and an equally large chicken in the other. Clearly the man was in the middle of preparing a meal. Tuffnut had no idea why he was eating at a time when everyone else was in the middle of a battle, but that did not concern him. He had taken one look at the chicken in the man's grip and suddenly he knew he could not let the man kill it. Something in its eyes, its expression, its giant fluffy feathers…the Chicken was not going to be a casualty today! Not the Chicken!

With an impressive roar he charged at the incredulous man and head-butted him in the stomach. He seized the cleaver, threw it into a corner, and grabbed the Chicken. "Nice try, you monster, but as long as Tuffnut Thorsten is around, nobody will go around murdering innocent chickens!"

"Hey, you come back here! That's going to be my lunch!" The man chased after him.

"Never, coward who hides behind trying to murder chickens whilst his comrades are locked in the heat of battle!"

"I'm the ship's pilot! I was _ordered_ to stay here by Drago Bludvist!"

"Bludvist, Dudvist, crud fist!" Tuffnut suddenly stopped in his tracks, shouted "catch!" and threw the Chicken at the man's head. The Chicken at once began pecking and clawing at his face.

"Argh! Get it off me, get it off me!"

Tuffnut whipped off his helmet and banged it onto the pilots head. The man staggered a minute, and then fell onto the floor.

Tuffnut pointed his finger at him. "That's what comes from trying to assassinate poor innocent chickens!"

Toothless roared like a lion and lunged for the Razorwhip's neck. There was no talking between these two opponents, just cries of rage and pain. Some kinds of battles have a perceptible grace or art form to them, but it was lacking here. This battle was two full grown monsters savagely trying to kill each other. The blows dealt were hard, vicious, and grisly. Nobody came to help either of them. The humans were too busy fighting each other and many were too scared or sensible to get involved with such a battle.

The Razorwhip tried to take to the skies, where it would have the advantage over the grounded Night Fury, but Toothless never allowed it the opportunity to open its wings without them becoming damaged. The black Dragon was relentless in keeping on the offensive. Neither dragon used fire much, mostly for fear of missing and hitting their own side by accident. Toothless did so out of his own morality, the Razorwhip did so because it feared it would be punished later. So they only fired when they could not possibly miss, which meant the shots they did fire were very painful. The hides of both dragons opened in numerous places.

In pain, the Razorwhip went for the same tactic that had worked in the past: its spiked tail. But Toothless proved to be usually too fast for it, and his own tail had a spike of its own: the metal remains of his prosthetic tail fin. It was not much use against a dragon with metal armor, so Toothless aimed for the Razorwhip's wounds and eyes. Toothless also found he had another advantage: his neck was a considerably smaller target.

Not that the Razorwhip was hopelessly outmatched. Its armor was stronger than Toothless's, and while its tail swings missed mostly, it still scored some painful hits, especially on Toothless's unprotected underside. And it had less reason to fear shooting fire than Toothless did, and for every blow Toothless made to its neck or face, it paid back with fire bursts aimed for Toothless's head.

While the contest remained undecided, the dragons from the Sanctuary, the army Drago had been keeping offshore, had reached the island. With the question of the Beta still being settled they were freed from any mind control and were taking full advantage of it. Not one of them took Drago's side. Much like Toothless, most dared not use fire much for fear of burning their own side, but they were still swooping in, grabbing enemy soldiers in their claws and flinging them away or dropping them. Others landed and viciously attacked with claws and teeth, and the occasional burst of flames. Despite all the care some took, homes and other buildings were soon blazing. The dragons blamed the blazes on Drago and his people for making them so enraged in the first place, and the results were even more vicious attacks. It was as though each dragon hoped destroying Drago's army more utterly would somehow wipe out their actions at the Sanctuary.

Fishlegs found himself suddenly alone beside a house and for a brief moment he looked around. Houses were up in flames once again, people were screaming and hacking at each other with a mad frenzy, dragons were swarming around killing people, blood was everywhere, and smoke was turning the sky almost black. And all this was happening to his home and to the only people he had ever cared about. He wanted nothing more than to crawl away, be sick, and pray this was all just a nightmare.

But he did not do that. He swallowed, raised his sword and ran screaming back into the hellish pandemonium that is war.

"You know, having a missing leg is a real pain at times," Hiccup said as he attached his prosthetic. With Ruffnut's help he had hobbled and hopped all the way to the armory. It had taken a while to find the room, but thankfully they ran into nobody. The entire ship seemed deserted. Ruffnut was delighted by all the dangerous weapons that had been left behind.

"Oh, imagine what damage I could do with this thing!" she shouted as she held up a flail with a spiked ball twice the size of her head.

"By all means take it. Now, what's the situation on Berk?"

"Very destructive," Tuffnut announced as he entered the room.

"There you are!" Ruffnut shouted,

"What happened—and what's with the chicken?" Hiccup asked, not certain if he wanted to know the answer.

"A survivor of a most deadly game involving meat cleavers and pilots," Tuffnut said dramatically,

"OK…so, how is our side holding up? What are the dragons doing?"

"We don't know. The dragons deserted us, when we were rowing here they were all sitting on this ship for some reason, and then they flew off towards Berk, and Barf n' Belch came back! We don't know what's going on!"

Hiccup felt a sinking feeling but tried to ignore it. He could speculate later. Strapping on his armor he said "Ok, here's the plan. Suit up, and then you two find the helm, make this ship point at Berk, and then disconnect the helm so the course can't be altered." That last was an important thing to prevent from happening, especially where those two were concerned. He could easily imagine them playing around with the helm for the fun of it. "And I don't care what you do about any guards you come upon."

"Got it—I think. Sis, have we got it?"

"Yes, now where's the helm?"

"Probably somewhere at the stern and on the top deck."

"Ok, then what? And what will _you_ be doing?"

"Once we get moving, you'll be on your own. Do whatever you need to ensure your own safety, and be sure you're _not_ on board when we hit land."

The Twins were delighted. " _Hit_ land?"

"Yes, guys, hit it. This ship is about to make its final voyage. Let's give it a spectacular ending."

Tuffnut raised his new friend and announced the Chicken was pleased. Ruffnut kissed him on the cheek. "You are truly a Disciple of Loki! A man after my own heart!"

"Um…thanks?"

Olaf Hofferson was fighting furiously. Like most warriors he fought without thinking about it, his body instinctively doing what it had been trained to do. He fought his way through a small group of Outcasts and found himself face to face with Drago Bludvist himself.

There were no exchanges with words. Drago simply saw Olaf as his next target and he slammed his pike into Olaf's shield. Olaf was the more nimble of the two and slipped around him, giving Drago a sharp blow on the back and then stabbing an Outcast who had gotten too close.

Elsewhere along Berk the dragons were causing devastation to the opposing side and a little bit to Berk as well. Fires were spreading but nobody could stop to put them out. Astrid looked in vain for Stormfly, but the smoke was getting thicker and the heat of the battle offered little time to look. She might have seen the Nadder flying overhead several times but had no time to be certain.

Adoncia had run off into some other part of the battle and unintentionally ran right in Camicazi again.

"Adios, Mi Hermana!" she shrieked as she tried to stab the Bog Burglar.

"Same to you, you dirty little—" Camicazi swore and slammed a hammer she had stolen into Adoncia's head. Adoncia at once decided it was better to move to another part of the battle and ran for it. Camicazi attempted pursuit but it was no good in the chaos of the battle.

Unfortunately for Adoncia, she ran once again into Astrid. In her dazed state it took her a moment to realize this and she did not react when Astrid threw a knife into her eye until it was too late to dodge it.

Toothless finally got the Razorwhip's neck in his claws and pinned the dragon to the ground. The Razorwhip tried to get up but it was too tired, whereas Toothless seemed to grow stronger by the minute as he smelled victory.

" **Yield**!"

" **No**!" the Razorwhip gasped.

" **I'm going to count to three. If you haven't surrendered by then I bite your head off! One…Two…"** He ran his teeth against the Razorwhip's neck.

" **All right, all right, I yield, I yield**!" The Razorwhip screamed.

Toothless looked the dragon squarely in the eye. " **You're mind belongs to me now** ,"

" **As you wish, Beta** ,"

Toothless looked around triumphantly and called to his dragons. " **All right everyone! I'm the Beta once more, and I order everybody to wipe out this army of murderers**!" He turned to the Razorwhip, " **And as for** _ **you**_ …" he grabbed one of the Razorwhip's wing joints in his mouth and bit into it. Ignoring the Razorwhip's screams of agony he bent the wing bone until it snapped off from its socket. This was one dragon that would never fly again. And as Gobber once observed, a downed dragon was a dead dragon.

Since the ship was based on his design, he guessed the engines were in the bowels of the ship. He hoped he was right, for it would waste time if he was wrong and he had no idea how much time he had now.

He was relieved to find the engine room was indeed where he thought it would be and now he understood how they were making the ship move. There were 5 Monstrous Nightmares, each one chained to what looked like a massive metal barrel with knobs sticking out. Even in his current situation, the fact that this design had been taken from his ideas still outraged him.

There was only one person in the room: the man whose job was clearly to keep the Nightmares at work. The sight of the whip in his hands outraged Hiccup further. This was _not_ what he had had in mind when he'd designed this ship. He could see long scars on the Nightmares and marks from where their chains had dug into their flesh, and his temper snapped. He ran right up to the man responsible for this work, and without warning hit the man in the head with all his might.

"Hope you've got something for a headache, because you'll need it later." He commented as the man slumped to the ground unconscious. Hiccup first shut the door and bolted it, then turned to the Nightmares, who were staring at him incredulously. " **Right, listen up! You have one more job to perform and then you'll never be slaves in this place again. And to prove it to you, I'm going to free you all first**." He was already rushing around picking the locks to their bonds. The Nightmares were both thrilled and confused.

" **But who are you**?" one asked.

" **And how do you speak Dragonese**?"

" **I wouldn't expect you to know about it, given you've been imprisoned down here, but I'm the one they call 'The Dragon King'** ," Hiccup replied, " **Drago's least favorite person. And now you guys are free to go, but first I need to ask you for a big favor**."

" **Name it, Sire** ," one of the Nightmares said, and they all bowed their heads.

" **Ok, two favors: first of all don't call me that and don't bow to me. More importantly…actually, give me a minute."**

He walked around the room, trying to understand the workings. A mistake could be fatal for all of them. He noted the Nightmares were forced to crouch under the giant metal barrels, or whatever they were called; he would just call them barrels for the moment. Upon command the Nightmares would light themselves on fire. This would heat the large cauldrons of water in the barrel and in time turn it to steam. Other pipes were present to allow unwanted gases and smoke to escape. Then, the steam would rise into large copper pipes that eventually led to the wheels that would turn the ship's propellers. So how was he going to destroy this?

He had a look at the device again.

"Obviously if I close these valves here while the water is boiling, there would be nowhere for the steam to go. That would make the pressure build like a volcano and then…and what's this part for?" he peered through a small observation window in one barrel. "A sheet of metal in the water. That must be where most of the heat rises to. So the water above it is what will boil the most. All right—and what happens if the water level gets too low?" he scratched his head. "Think, Hiccup, you've always been good at destroying stuff. The water above the metal surface cools it so it never overheats, so if the water was gone the metal would overheat and that would—?" He suddenly smiled. "Oh. Yes. _That_ would do it."

He turned to the Nightmares. " **All right, everyone! I need this ship to go the fastest it's ever gone**." He ran over to each barrel and turned a valve to remove some of the water from the upper section, praying he would have enough left. " **Start heating the water! Let's see how fast this bucket can go!** "

" **With pleasure**!" the dragons burst into flames and the water began to heat up. He closed the valves only part way. He dared not risk going all out yet.

There was a long opened pipe in one corner. Hiccup shouted some words into it and was relieved to hear somebody shouting back.

"Hiccup, was that you?"

It was as he had thought. This pipe communicated with the helm, allowing the pilots to shout orders down to the engine people. "Good to hear you, Ruff—are we heading for land?"

"Yes! Oh yes, we are heading for land!"

Unexpectedly, there was a loud pounding coming from the door.

"Hey! Is anybody in there? Open up!"

"Why hello, Marva!" Hiccup said loudly, "How's the head? Sorry if I don't let you in but the door is jammed and I fear it will take a while for me to fix it!"

"Darn it Hiccup, I know perfectly well you blocked it on purpose! Now open up so I can kill you!"

"And why on earth would I do that?"

"What are you even _doing_ in there? You can't escape by hiding in there!"

"Oh I can't, can I? Well we'll just see about that! And to show how nice I can be, I suggest you jump overboard! It's the only chance you've got now!"

"What? What do you mean?" He was pleased to hear how nervous she now sounded.

"I mean, Marva, that in a handful of minutes we are going to be on dry land again!" He glanced at the engines and muttered to himself " **very good, keep it up guys**!"

"Dry land—Hiccup, you're crazy!"

"Maybe I am!" He laughed so loudly that he sounded as though he genuinely was. "But honestly, Marva, I think it's my ego! I just _hate_ having my designs stolen and used for purposes I don't like!"

By now the speed of the ship was noticeably getting faster. The pressure in the giant barrels was getting so great they were beginning to shake. Hiccup closed off more of the valves to increase it, and he noticed the water levels were getting lower.

" **Keep it going, boys! If nothing else we'll make a nice big explosion! The Twins will be so happy!"**

Ruffnut's voice came from the pipe again, shouting "Hiccup, we're getting closer!"

"Hiccup, please!" Marva was starting to panic.

"Too late, Marva! Nothing is stopping us now!"

"Hiccup, please, I'm begging you, stop! Open this door and I promise to Odin I won't kill you!" Marva screamed. "Wait—remember what happened in those cells, remember the whip on your—"

"La-de-da-de-da and Caesar cried 'seize her!'" Hiccup sang loudly "That's not going to work this time, Marva! And if I don't do anything I'm dead as soon as Drago gets back! Isn't that wonderful? Hiccup the Useless will be dead! Oh happy days, I wonder if they'll have a library in the afterlife, then I'd have all the time in existence to read! Ha, ha, ha! So sorry Marva, but you have nothing to offer or threaten me with anymore! And if this is my end, then I'd rather die trying to save my family, so for once in your stinking life, SHUT YOUR BIG FAT MOUTH!" He paused, "and I'm glad I've lived long enough to say that!"

Out on the beach, as he and Olaf continued to fight, Drago suddenly froze in his tracks and starred out to sea.

"What are they _doing_? They're—ARGH!" He shifted his gaze to block another blow, but in his mind was reeling. He understood what had happened. He had no idea how it had happened, but somehow the Dragon King had gotten loose again.

Now more and more people on the beach began to notice the ship heading directly for them. As soon as it became apparent that it was not going to stop nobody wasted anymore time but began running as fast as they could to get away. Suddenly sides did not matter any longer; human or dragon, on Drago's side or with the Three Tribe Alliance, it was not a matter of consideration now. All that did matter was not to be on the beach when that ship crashed into it.

Drago let out yet another roar. Olaf swung at him and Drago dodged it. Olaf held his position for a split second too long and Drago, channeling his fury to fuel his strength, lunged with his pike and pierced Olaf's chest. He pulled the pike out and moved on to his next target as Olaf fell to the ground.

"Hiccup, we're taking off! The ship's about to crash!" Ruffnut screamed into the pipe.

" **Right, let's get out of here**!" Hiccup shouted as he scooped up the unconscious slave driver. He was not going to let him die like this. The Nightmares pushed their way through the opposite door with him right behind them, scrambling like mad to get on deck. Hiccup grabbed a dragon and they were in the air a split second before the ship hit land. He had cut it closer than he had any way of knowing.

The ship collided with the beach at full speed. As it did so the sudden shock made its metal plates buckle. A tremor ran along the whole structure and was felt on parts of the island, as if an earthquake had struck for a few seconds. The bow was driven into the beach while the stern went into the air and then back into the sea.

The Nightmares had left their posts but the residual heat of the metal was enough to keep the pressure going with virtually no escape, for Hiccup had turned the valves almost all the way to the closed position. And as the residual heat worked its power on the barrel, the water level dropped too low. Add to this the sudden shock of running aground and the barrels could not take anymore.

With a sound more deafening than a Thunderdrum's roar the sides of the ship were blown off. The decks were sent into the air, though it was hard to see due to the massive cloud of smoke and fire that went into the air with it. People on shore dove for cover as pieces of hot and twisted metal flew at them. Drago's army got the worst of it, for they were the closest to the explosion. Some homes took hits as well. What remained of the ship's infrastructure could not support the weight above it. The _Czernobog_ lurched on the beach, as if making one final effort, and then the hull collapsed in on itself.

A Zippleback with two people on it flew overhead.

"And _that's_ how you blow something up!" Tuffnut shouted.

"Awesome destruction forever!" Ruffnut sang.

"LOKI'D!" They cried together.

 **Author's note: I would like to give special thanks to Nutzkie for providing a great deal of advice and explanations on how to make a boiler blow up. If I have gotten anything wrong in that matter the fault is mine for not understanding the subject enough—or how about we just blame it all on Drago Bludvist? At any rate, thank you very much for your help, Nutzkie!**


	32. Chapter 32

**I own Nothing**

 **All Rights Reserved**

 **Chapter 32**

 **For the Last Time**

For several minutes everyone—and I do mean _everyone—_ was too stunned by what had just happened to do anything but stare in shock and astonishment. Only a volcano could have made a larger explosion. The Twins and Hiccup had pulled off a masterpiece of destruction, and the testament to their skill was the huge twisted and tangled wreck of iron that used to be the _Czernobog_. Meant to be the herald of Drago's new campaign of vengeance, it was now the most unseaworthy piece of scrap metal the world had ever seen.

Once the sound of the explosion died, everything was suddenly absolutely silent, except for the fires still burning. Even those who had been injured, before and during the blast, were too stunned to make a sound. Then a loud cheer went up from the defending side. The dragons roared triumphantly. The fighting began again with renewed determination on one side and increasing despair on the other.

Astrid looked around wildly as she fought, hoping to see Hiccup somewhere. While she sensed the fighting was wearing down, it was still chaos all over the place and she doubted she would see him even if he was ten meters away from him. 'Besides,' she mentally reminded herself as she ducked another sword, 'don't let yourself get distracted; you're not out of this yet.'

Maybe Astrid was not but Drago Bludvist was, as far as he was concerned. The game was up and he knew it. His dragons were taken from him, his prized ship was destroyed and his fools for allies were being slaughtered. He was betrayed by weak fools again. Now he would leave them to their fate. He happened to know that a ship was moored on the other side of the island, left there with a small crew just in case he needed to get away. He turned and began making his way away from the fighting. In the chaos of the battle and its aftermath he imagined nobody noticed. Perhaps from the land nobody did, but there was somebody up in the air that was looking for him.

The sound of the explosion terrified the people in the cave like nothing else had done so far. And for Peer and Ase, neither of them could take it any longer, but ran off while everyone else was still recovering from the surprise. The guards went after them, but the children had a good head start and knew the paths through the woods better then the guards did.

With the destruction of the _Czernobog_ , the allegiance shift of the dragons, and the flight of Drago, the heart went out of what was left of the attackers. Most surrendered without any prompting. The handful of warriors that kept fighting was quickly and easily subdued. For the defenders now came the matter of dealing with prisoners and, more importantly, taking care of the dead and wounded.

Probably no sane person ever liked this part of a battle. It was hard to feel victorious or honorable when standing surrounded by the dead and dying, to be able to hear the wounded scream and plead for help and know there was little that could be done. All the tribes on that island had had vast numbers of warriors, yet only a mere handful of healers were present. There were so many casualties with great gaping wounds that blood was oozing out of unchecked it seemed impossible to decide who to begin with.

Some threw themselves headlong into helping the wounded. Others wandered about the field in a daze, looking around and wondering how so much death and destruction could ever have happened. Those who had to guard prisoners were both lucky and unfortunate. They had something to do, which kept their minds off the casualties, yet that also meant they were standing around on guarding while their friends and family members were dying nearby.

The Dragons helped where they could, not because Toothless gave them any orders, though he did, but because they could all sense it was the right thing to do. Most of them took over guarding prisoners, an easy task for them. Others worked to put out the fires and carry the wounded as best as they could away from burning buildings, lest they should perish in the flames.

Marva had thrown herself off the ship not long before the explosion and by some miracle had managed to swim far enough away to escape the worst of it, though a piece of debris went into her leg. Exhausted and in great pain she dragged herself onto the beach and collapsed on the sand.

It was not fair. Hiccup was supposed to lose. He was a born loser and he was a weakling. How on earth could he possibly destroy a ship like that and mess up Drago's excellent plans? Granted, she did not know much about those plans, but they still were excellent! How could they not be if Drago had thought of them? Speaking of which, she decided she had better get up and find Drago. If nothing else they could escape and make a new plan. Hiccup might have bought a small victory but he would lose next time. The pain in her leg only fueled her anger.

Movement behind her caught her attention. The head of a Scauldron had risen out of the ocean. It was looking at Marva coldly.

"Oh go away." Marva spat. "You dragons have done enough damage already. I said GO AWAY!" and she grabbed a rock and threw it at the dragon. She missed, due to the pain and her anger impacting her aim, but the dragon recoiled. "That's right! You'd better obey when I tell you! Drago's gonna enslave all of you, just wait!" The Scauldron dropped its head underwater but Marva kept shouting. She had too much steam to blow off and she found her leg hurt less when she did. "You and your stupid friend Hiccup are living on borrowed time! You'll see! You'll—"

The head rose from the surface again and sprayed water at Marva. Scauldrons take in seawater and heat it up in their bellies. It could grow hot enough to burn the scales off a Screaming Death; human flesh stood no chance against it. Marva's last moments were spent in sheer agony as she was boiled alive.

Astrid had gone running to her father, her mother right behind her, but it was already too late. All they could do was weep over Olaf Hofferson's body.

Never in all her life had Astrid ever felt so horrible, so upset, and so lost. She just could not believe that her father, the man she had looked up to all her life, was dead. Anger and pain filled up her chest like never before. She wanted to scream, throw her axe into everything in sight, anything to stop the pain she was in, but she knew it would not change a thing. Her mother sobbed as she clung to Olaf's body as if that would somehow bring him back to life. Some might call it undignified but there was never a time when Astrid had cared less about maintaining any dignity or public images. All she saw was that her father was dead, how could society matter at such a time? Why was she even thinking about it while she clung to her father's body? The reminder of what she was doing and why brought on a fresh wave of tears.

She felt something prod her back. It was Stormfly.

"Hey girl," she whispered, "where have you been?"

The Nadder merely bowed her head in grief. Astrid threw her arms around her neck and starting weeping again. The presence of Stormfly suddenly made her wish Hiccup was there. She wanted his arms around her and to hear him tell her in that half irritating nasally voice of his it was going to all right. In a moment of wild fancy she imagined him telling her of some trick he had learned from dragons that could bring back the dead. But she knew that was a lot of nonsense. Still, after what was happening now, she thought she would not mind a little nonsense.

But at last she snapped out of her crying. There was work to be done. Her father would not approve of her standing around while others were dying and needed her help. And if she wanted Hiccup so badly, she would not find him by staying where she was.

"Come on, girl, we've got things to do," she told the Nadder. They rushed over to the first body they saw and began trying to bandage any wounds they could. Greta remained with her husband a little longer before moving off to do the same.

Spitelout lay on the ground, feeling life ebb out of his body. He had no notion of what was going on around him and for the most part he did not care. He was abruptly jolted out of his thoughts by the sensation that someone's hands were gripping his body. He opened his eyes but his vision was cloudy and he could not recognize who was looking down at him. It took a bit of effort to speak but at last he got out the words: "Did we win?"

"Yes sir,"

"My boy…Snotlout…where is he…?"

"I'm sorry, sir, he's injured—not seriously!" For Spitelout had let out a loud wail and cried "Not him, spare my boy, take me Odin but please, spare _him_!"

"It's just a leg wound, sir, he'll be fine, he just can't walk at the moment. I'll go see if I can carry him—"

"No!" Spitelout grabbed him with all the firmness he had left, "No time—can you hear me?"

"Yes sir, every word!"

It was getting harder for him to talk. "Tell ma son I was always proud of h—him. Tell him, I wanted him to—su—succeed so 'e would be the man I—could neva hope ta be—'ope 'e finds that dragon and keeps 'im,"

"I'll tell him sir, I'll tell him, anything else?"

"Tell 'im—and me brother—I'm so sorree fer everythin'—tell 'em—" He stopped to take a breath but never breathed again. He never felt the other man's grip on him tremble or the tears drop onto his face.

"I'll tell them, sir," Fishlegs whispered hoarsely.

The Razorwhip had been killed in the explosion. Its head had been struck by an iron plate. " **It's fortunate** ," Toothless said to himself, " **because if I had known before what it had done I would've killed it myself.** " He had only just learned from Persephone and Evictus the bare gist of what had happened to the Sanctuary. He could not bring himself to hear the details. " **This will kill Hiccup if he's still alive. But he'll have to learn about it sooner or later. Oh Hiccup, where are you**?"

Unlike the Hoffersons and plenty of others, Stoick had little time to mourn for anyone. He was dispatching survivors right and left to attend to casualties and prisoners. Thankfully he was not alone in this matter. Bertha had survived unharmed, though her daughter had received a broken arm for her role in the fighting. Gort also had an injured arm, which would probably have to be amputated, and though he tried to make an effort to rally his strength he had grown delirious and was too weak to exercise command.

He had no idea of what the Butchers Bill would be like, though he knew it would be high. There would also be lots of homes to be rebuilt, and prisoners dealt with. Stoick had no interest in mass executions and figured the best thing to do, after making them help rebuild things, they could use the extra muscle, would be to send them back to their own islands after a high ransom had been paid. For the moment they would stay on a section of the beach and be guarded by dragons. He was not too worried about them.

Of the enemy leaders, as far as Stoick and Bertha could learn, Drago and Adoncia had both vanished and nobody had any idea of where they had gone. Dagur was lying face down in the dirt literally crying over spilled milk. One Berkian had been milking a cow when Stoick had sounded the alert that morning. At some point during the fight Dagur had knocked over the abandoned pail of milk and the act had greatly upset him.

"Well, they don't call him 'Dagur the Deranged' for nothing," Stoick mumbled. There had been a time where that sounded funny, but now it just sounded bitter to him, like a joke heard too many times. As for Alvin the Treacherous, he was nursing a slash across the stomach. Stoick wondered mildly if he would be one of the exceptions to his ransom plan.

Unbidden, Ruffnut and Tuffnut came over to him. The excitement and thrill from the explosion they had helped create was still abundant in both of them and they were not yet sensing the horrors of the battlefield like everyone else was.

"Hey Chief! Did you see that explosion? Wasn't that something?"

"Later, you two," Stoick said absentmindedly as he shouted to others "Bring those stretchers and get them off the beach!" A major concern was to get everyone off the beaches before the tide came in and drowned them.

"So where's Hiccup?" Tuffnut asked looking around. The Chicken in his hand clucked loudly.

"How should I know?" Stoick demanded, still not looking at them as he helped place bodies onto stretchers.

"Sir, he was on the boat!" Ruffnut said, "He helped us destroy it!"

Stoick stopped in his tracks. "He was…in that thing?" He pointed to the twisted remains of the _Czernobog_. "Is—is he still in there?"

"No sir, didn't you see him fly away on that Nightmare?"

"He…flew away?"

"Yeah, they went towards the woods. I don't know why," Tuffnut said, "I mean, I would've expected him to join in the fight,"

"But he's alive?"

"Yeah, last we saw him,"

Stoick felt a huge wave of relief wash over him. His boy was still alive. He wanted to go looking for Hiccup and the rest of his family, but he had no time. He had other duties to attend to first, and hopefully Hiccup, Snotlout, and Spitelout would turn up as he performed them. But he did have to wonder as he worked, where was his brother and what on earth was Hiccup doing?

Of the remaining dragons who had had riders, Persephone had not troubled herself one bit about Marva, but even if she had it would have made no difference. It was unlikely anyone would ever find what remained of her. Midnight and Camicazi had seen each other, but Cami had been indoors with a healer and the room was too crowded with wounded for Midnight to squeeze into. They had to be content with merely making eye contact for the moment.

Gustav had been spotted by Shamrock. Gustav had survived the fight but had gotten a nasty cut on his head. If that sword had gone a bit lower it would have taken his ear off. As Gustav attempted to bind up his wound a Monstrous Nightmare had approached him curiously and, as far as Shamrock could now see, the two seemed to be getting quite attached to each other. The Treejumper decided to let them bond and not bother them. Toothless then ordered him to lend a paw with tearing a house down. Several homes were so badly damaged that they was on the brink of collapsing, so Stoick asked the dragons to just get the dismantling over with.

Hookfang found Snotlout lying in a corner of the village plaza. His shirt was ripped up and the pieces were wrapped around each his legs. Both of them were bloodstained.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout said in a chipper tone, as if he was glad that he had somebody he could show off his injuries to. "Where have ya been?" Hookfang responded by nuzzling him. "Did you miss me? Yeah, I got cut up pretty badly, but I paid them back for it! And I saw the coolest thing ever! Astrid threw a knife into some woman's eye! She looked so hot when she was doing it! Hey, don't go nuzzling me like that, I'm tough, I can bear it! I'd almost say you were going soft! Don't let Dad see you; he wouldn't like me having a sentimental dragon!" He shook his head, "he threw me out again, you know? He didn't like that I was only pretending to pretend to like dragons. But we'll get him to change his mind soon. Hiccup did it with Astrid, it can't be _that_ hard!" He turned around, "And there's Fishlegs coming on top of Meatlug! Come to admire my heroic scars, Fishy?"

Fishlegs cheered up only slightly when Meatlug had found him, and now he had to shatter Snotlout's moment of happiness.

Drago sped through the woods towards his escape ship, cursing everyone and everything else and reassuring himself. All was not lost. He had progressed from these setbacks before, he would do it again. A man was only defeated if he admitted it, and he would never do that. Nobody could ever truly defeat him, Drago Bludvist, the only true Dragon Master in the world. And next time he would not be hindered by a bunch of fools. Next time he would do better. He was not finished yet, he kept reassuring himself. Next time, next time—

He was snapped out of his reassurances when he heard the sound of drawn steel. He stopped in his tracks and felt pure anger in his chest. The Dragon King was standing before him, his flaming sword out and his shield in front of him. A Monstrous Nightmare flew away behind him.

"Going somewhere?"

Drago pulled out his pike. "You've interfered for the last time!"

"Got that right!" The King lunged straight at him.

Sparks flew as his sword struck Drago's pike. The King slid to the side and slashed at Drago's leg. Drago countered with a blow that nearly knocked the King over. He recovered his balance quickly and ducked, else the pike would have cut his head off. Instead he swung his shield like a giant club into Drago's head. Several bloodied teeth flew out onto the ground.

Drago staggered a moment and then swung his pike with a roar. The King dodged it and brought his sword down onto it. Sparks flew into the air again, almost getting into both their eyes.

Drago lunged again and the King moved to more favorable ground, that pike striking right where his foot had just been. The King leapt behind a tree, Drago expected him to come out on the opposite side and moved to strike him. But the King jumped out in the direction he had come and dealt Drago a sharp blow on the back.

"Drago, this is your last chance—and I've been _way_ too reasonable with you! Surrender and reform and I'll spare your life!"

"So noble of you!" Drago spat, "I'll have you know _I_ will never accept _your_ surrender!"

"I won't be offering it!" The King shouted. Drago retorted with even more fury and hammered his pike repeatedly against the King's shield. The King put his hand to his gauntlet and pressed a button, but nothing happened.

Drago grinned, blood dripping from his remaining teeth and lips, "Your tricks won't save you this time, boy!" He swung his pike again. The King ducked and quickly shifted his prosthetic to its ice pick position. He then darted forward and stomped on Drago's foot.

Drago roared with pain and recoiled. He might have been finished off then and there, except the King had to pause to reset his prosthetic. This gave Drago a brief but serviceable chance to recover and stagger forward towards his foe. Instead of trying to fight he shoved the King's weapons out of his way with his pike, grabbed the King by the throat and started squeezing.

Every ounce of his anger went into that grip clenched around the King's neck. He heard the sounds of the King's struggling and found it wonderful.

"DIE ALREADY!"

Instead the King swung his flaming sword into Drago's hair. Drago at once had to let go and began swatting his head. It might have been comical if the King was in the mood for jokes. All he wanted then was to get his breath back. For a moment the two foes did not attack each other while they sorted out their own problems. But that did not last long and Drago soon picked up his pike again and charged. The King countered with a powerful blow that severed Drago's metal arm from his body and sent it flying into a tree.

Toothless looked around wildly. Where on earth had his human gone to? And where was Drago? He was beginning to grow frantic with worry. He sniffed the ground but it was almost impossible to track anyone, the dirt was so beaten up and covered with so many different odors. The air was just as full of odors as well.

" **Hiccup where are you**?" he cried loudly. Then he heard the sound of Hiccup shouting. He knew that voice anywhere and he sped off in the direction of it. As he listened more intently he picked up the sounds of someone else shouting. It was not hard to guess who the other person making noise was, and he had a horrible feeling that Hiccup had not been shouting for him but because he was in pain or in trouble. Toothless quickly called upon other dragons to follow him. He was not going to let Drago get away this time, if it took every dragon to subdue him.

Astrid spotted Toothless running off into the woods, a large horde of dragons following him. Guessing what they were after, she made to follow them. Then Dagur the Deranged grabbed her arm desperately.

"I've always liked you, you know!"

"Get out of my way!"

"I can make it worth your while if you let me go!"

Astrid kicked him in the stomach and shoved him to the ground. As she did so she roared "If anyone dies because you got in my way, I'll let you go as we fly over a volcano!"

The King had shouted all right, because Drago was waving his pike around like a madman and had landed a sharp blow to the King's leg. Drago tried again, but this time The King blocked it and struck Drago's exposed shoulder stump.

Peer and Ase had been running through the woods towards the noise. They saw the Dragon King and Drago fighting, so they pulled out their knives and charged at Drago's exposed back. The attacks were little more than pinpricks. Drago spun around, screamed so loudly the children instantly recoiled in terror, and then lunged with his pike at them. In desperation the Dragon King slammed his shield into Drago's head.

"You two get out of here!" He shouted at Peer and Ase.

"We want to help!" Ase screamed,

"Then help by not getting yourself—"

Drago jumped and grabbed Peer by the throat and squeezed, crushing his windpipe. Without thinking Ase grabbed Drago's wrist and bit it. Screaming again he released Peer, whom Ase dragged away as quickly as possible. Hiccup, meantime, had taken advantage of the distraction to stab Drago in the side. It was not fatal, Drago's armor was too strong there, but it still hurt like burning coals on bare skin, and he was forced to back off for a minute.

"C'mon Peer, wake up!" Ase urged, but her friend's body stayed limp. Hiccup spared a glance and felt a lump grow in his throat. He had barely even known the boy. But he had no more time to think about it for Drago attacked him again.

Both Drago and the King were bleeding badly now, and were sweating almost as much. Drago landed a blow to the King's arm and sliced it opened. But despite going on the offensive, Drago was tiring. He had been in battle much longer and was not as young as he used to be. Even worse, Ase had retreated beyond his reach and were throwing every rock and stick she could lay her hands on at him, giving him one more thing to watch out for. The King, by contrast, seemed to sense a victory was at hand and, despite his wounds, fought with more energy. He swung his sword again and knocked Drago's pike out of his hand. Drago grabbed a branch and flung it at him, then picked up another. Both were easily dodged and were repaid with another slice at Drago's leg.

Drago shouted and roared but such moves only hurt ears. The King swung again, missed, and hit a tree. Drago dove for his pike and flung it at the King in desperation, missing by a wide margin. The King dealt another blow to Drago's leg and Drago sank onto the ground. The King looked down at him as if daring him to continue the fight. Drago picked himself back up gingerly and threw a rock, mostly out of desperation. He grabbed yet another tree limb, but the King had had enough of this. He feinted with his shield as his sword cut upwards, slashing through Drago's face. Bludvist fell to the ground with a scream and this time he stayed down.

The King stood over his foe, triumphant and panting.

"No! I will not lose to such a pathetic weakling!" Drago shouted as he tried feebly to get up.

"Oh for crying out loud, look around you for once! Where's your strength now, o mighty warlord? All your allies are dead, captured, or deserting you! You saw with your own two eyes today clear proof that my ideas of loyalty are stronger than your ideas of forced servitude! Must this go on?"

"Weak—fools—traitors and cowards—I'll do better—"

The King raised his sword. 'There's nothing left for this man but the end. Just finish this,' he told himself. 'Think of all the harm this man has done, and yet he still refuses to listen to you. Look at him, lying there like an infant, it's pathetic, even if he managed to get up I'd knock him down again, any more fighting would be useless—'

He paused. Useless. Drago was lying on the ground just as he used to after Snotlout had beaten him up. During the days when he had just wanted was someone to help him, to show him a little kindness and compassion.

He shook his head. 'This is not a matter of childhood bullying! This is the worst man within a thousand leagues of here! Think of all the people he's killed today! They would still be alive and well if it weren't for him! Think of that boy Peer! Dead for no reason! Avenge him! Avenge all of them!'

But still he hesitated. Had he not taken it upon himself to stand for the belief that revenge never helped anyone?

'Then save the lives of his future victims!' He urged himself,

But could he stoop to Drago's level? He could hear Ase screaming "kill him!"

This was the dilemma he had always feared. Astrid had always made her decisions by what was honorable. But which was it—to kill a killer, save his future victims, end the bloodshed? He would have no honor if he did so—but surely that was a price he could pay? On the other hand, he could let him live, risking future atrocities and battles from this man. What good would being able to boast that he did the merciful thing and spared a man's life if that act of mercy resulted in further catastrophes? But was there no alternative that could end this and not make him into a killer as well? Was there no other option?

This internal battle only lasted maybe a minute, but it must have seemed an eternity to both of them. Finally the King slowly and deliberately lowered his sword.

"Too weak to take a life?" Drago sneered, though he was secretly relieved.

"Maybe."

" _I_ would not hesitate,"

"Yes, you're very brave at murdering _children_!" Hiccup shouted. Suddenly he was questioning his resolve to spare Drago for the moment. "You're only alive right now because I'm allowing it—because I'm not quite finished with you yet." He was only delaying Drago's death and perhaps shifting responsibility for it, but he still could not bring himself to kill anyone in such a pitiful condition, even Drago. In any case, there were still some answers he wanted first.

"After all this time you're still so weak." Drago spat, "I'd kill you without a moment's thought or hesitation."

"And that's what makes us different, Drago."

"That and I can make a plan and you can't," Drago tried to laugh but it sounded like a whimper.

The King gave him a very strange look. "You may think that, but my plan has worked far better than yours has."

"Oh? Well then, just what do you plan to do with _me_?"

"That will be for the Chiefs to decide. Until then you're my prisoner. And unlike you, I know how to keep a man locked up."

The King went forward carefully and pulled Drago to his feet. Drago suddenly pulled out a knife and struck Hiccup's shoulder. He had been expecting this. The blade snapped as it hit the armor and did him no harm at all, but the sudden force of the attack made Hiccup's leg buckle and he fell backwards a little. Drago, however, got no further, for a large black shape barreled into him with a loud shriek.

" **THAT DOES IT**!" Toothless roared, " **YOU'VE ATTACKED MY HUMAN FOR THE LAST TIME**!"

" **Toothless, wait a minute**!"

" **NOT THIS TIME, HICCUP!** " He swung his tail and sent Drago flying into a tree. " **I'LL SHOW YOU STRENGTH, YOU PIECE OF AGING LIZARD DUNG**!" He hit Drago again and again with his claws. Drago tried frantically to crawl away but he had no hope of outrunning Toothless. The enraged Night Fury slashed his claws through Drago's back and tore his skin to shreds. " **THIS IS FOR TORTURING HICCUP!"** He kicked Drago in the chest, " **THIS IS FOR GRIMM**!" He bit Drago in the shoulder. Drago tried to reach for Toothless's weak spot but the Dragon realized it and spat plasma into his face. Drago screamed as the skin around his eyes burned. " **THIS IS FOR THE SANCTUARY! HICCUP MAY BE TOO MORAL FOR HIS OWN GOOD SOMETIMES BUT THAT'S WHY I'M HERE**!" He opened his mouth, grabbed Drago by the torso, and began shaking him like a dog shaking a doll.

Astrid had arrived by that point and rushed over to Hiccup, who had fallen onto his knees. "Hiccup! Thank the Gods, where have you been? Where are you hurt? Are you alright? Talk to me, please—Ase, what in the name of Thor are you doing—what's happened to Peer?"

Ase just stared, so terrified by what she was watching she could not look away. Astrid turned and saw the Night Fury with Drago. And now she understood what Hiccup had meant when he had described the day Toothless had rescued him from that cell in Spain. There was no cute winged lizard with puppy dog eyes before them. It was a raving monster truly worthy to be called the offspring of Death. She had never seen a dragon so terrifying in all her life.

For Drago this attack was even more terrifying. He was defenseless, in pain without let up, and desperate. He wanted to get away, he wanted help, he wanted it to stop, and he tried to beg for mercy but could not say anything. Every attempt he made to fight of the insane monster was repulsed easily. He had not felt this scared and helpless in decades.

Then the ferocious grip suddenly and unexpectedly lessened. For an instant relief and hope surged through Drago. Then he realized the Dragon had not decided to be merciful. The Dragon had merely stopped to allow some other Dragons to join him. Each one grabbed a limb in their jaws, while the Night Fury moved over and put Drago's head into his mouth. Hiccup and Astrid suddenly realized what was about to happen and grabbed Ase, made her look away, and covered her ears. But they could not block out the screaming.

" **PULL**!" one dragon shouted.

Drago could feel his body being literally pulled apart. He could feel the black Dragon's teeth slowly sinking into his skull. He felt a Timberjack ran a claw down his chest, splitting the ribs and intestines opened. Pain and terror filled every fiber of his being. He screamed one last time and prayed as he had never prayed before that it would be over quickly.

But the Dragons refused to grant him the mercy of a quick death.

Author's Note:

There is only one chapter left in this story. It will be posted on November 20th. Now, before the next chapter is posted, are there any plot points or questions that I have not yet resolved or explained? If so, please let me know in the reviews and I will see about settling them in the next chapter.

Thanks for sticking with me, everyone! We're almost finished—with _this_ part anyway!


	33. Chapter 33

**For the last time, I Own Nothing and all Rights are Reserved**

 **Please don't sue me!**

 **Chapter 33**

 **The Guiding Torch**

The sky was gray now as the aged sun began to drift towards the horizon. Most of the fires had been put out, thanks to the dragons improvising a fire brigade and villagers providing any buckets and barrels they could locate. What was left of the burnt buildings now smoldered. Wisps of gray smoke drifted up from gaps in between the cinders and ashes.

Stoick found it hard to be a Chief at times like this when he really just wanted to look around for his son. He did look at every opportunity that came up, but as he was the Chief people kept coming up to him every minute asking for help or directions, and he naturally had to give them his full attention. Thankfully Gobber was around to search for the both of them. The Blacksmith had received miraculously gotten through the battle with hardly a scratch on him, mainly because he had spent much of the battle managing the forge and supplying weapons as opposed to fighting. The forge had not been spared the destruction, but it had survived better than other buildings.

It was quite some time after the _Czernobog_ explosion that Stoick finally found the person he was looking for. Hiccup, supported by Astrid, at last emerged from the woods. Behind them were Toothless and a dozen or so dragons. Clinging to Astrid's leg was the young girl Ase, who was crying her eyes out. Stoick spotted the limb body of Peer on the Night Fury's back and his stomach knotted itself yet again. Hiccup himself had numerous makeshift bandages wrapped around his arms and legs, and he looked ready to fall over at any moment. The sight of his son like this sent a shock through Stoick's heart, like the day Hiccup had been tortured. He could act solely as Chief no longer. With tears springing into his eyes, he at once ran over to them and hugged his son as tightly as he possibly could.

"Hi Dad," Hiccup said hollowly.

It took some time for Stoick to think of anything to say in response. At last all he could get out was "What happened to you, son?"

"It's a long story. Bludvist is dead."

"Dead?" Stoick repeated, as though it did not register.

"Dead," Hiccup shifted his weight slightly, "it's over. We won." But now that he could look over the battlefield himself for the first time, he wondered if he would have felt any worse if they had lost.

Stoick spoke up again. "Hiccup, that ship—the Twins said you were on it."

"Yeah—I made it blow up." he smiled slightly, "guess all those failed childhood experiments were good for something after all," He suddenly looked alert. "Adoncia. Have you found her yet?"

Stoick shook his head. "There's been so much to do I haven't taken a complete inventory on who we've captured yet."

"I saw her earlier," Astrid interrupted, "I put a knife in her eye."

"How considerate of you," Hiccup replied, "but is she dead?"

"I don't know," she frowned. "It didn't kill her outright, that much I know,"

"Well, if she's found alive I want to talk to her. And make certain she's not guarded by any men."

"I'll do that," Stoick replied, "You're certain Bludvist is dead?"

"Nobody could survive what happened to him." Astrid said quietly. Stoick looked at her questioningly but she kept silent. His gaze drifted over to the dragons, some of whom had dried blood around their mouths. He decided not to press the subject and instead said "Well then, that means all the leaders are dead or caught, except Adoncia. Good. Then there's no chance of them reorganizing. Then it really is finished."

Astrid looked over at Ase, who was still crying silently. "I'd better take her back to her mother. And talk to Peer's family." A lump came to her throat.

"I can do that part," Hiccup offered,

"Thanks, but I can manage," Astrid replied, a little awkwardly.

Stoick nodded and asked Astrid to also bring the news of the victory to the others hiding at the cave, as well as to bring all the help back that she could. With a regretful look at Hiccup she turned and left, gently coaxing Ase to come with her.

Stoick turned back to his son. "Son, you need to see a healer,"

"So does everyone else. I'm fine." But he still looked ready to fall over at any moment and had to lean on Toothless partially. With some effort he turned to the Dragon, suddenly all businesslike. " **Right, we've got things to do. Bud, I'll need the fittest and most rested dragons to go back to the Sanctuary, we'll grab what medical and building supplies we have and I'll need—Stormfly, go find Grimm, tell him I want to talk to him at once—Persephone, take a party around the island, search the coast for anyone escaping—"**

" **But sir?"** Stormfly said nervously.

" **And we'll need to do something about that wreck out there—maybe we should send someone to Breakneck Bog and offer it to the Smokebreath nest—"**

" **Sir**!"

" **And then we'll need food—we'll need to muster—** "

" **SIR**!"

" **WHAT**?" The King rounded on Stormfly furiously. He calmed down as soon as he saw the Nadder's hurt expression. " **What**?" he said in a much softer tone.

" **Well, sir—about the Sanctuary—** "

The King felt his heart drop into his stomach. " **What about it**?"

Stormfly told him that the island had been destroyed. Toothless then briefly explained his own adventures and told him that Grimm was dead—along with many others. Stormfly suddenly flung herself into the sand and began screaming for her dead children.

For the King, this was the final blow. He looked like he was in a stupor. He staggered slowly down the beach towards the water. All around him he could see what he perceived to be the fruits of his labor. He proceeded towards the wreck of the _Czernobog_ and looked at it like a painter stepping back to look over his now finished masterpiece.

Then with a scream he whipped out Inferno and slammed it over and over again into the wrecked hull. He shouted oaths and other curses. People stared at him in shock, for they had never seen him lose control like this, but he ignored all of them. All he could think of was how he wanted Drago in front of him right now. He felt the dragons had let him off too lightly. He wanted to cut him to ribbons, he wanted to pull him apart over the course of days instead of minutes, he wanted to cook him alive, he wanted to inflict all kinds of pain on that man and he could not touch him anymore. If they found Adoncia he swore he would do even worse things to her. By Odin, if he had known this was going to happen the last time he saw her, he _would_ have torn her to pieces. And he wanted to do that right now.

But his anger could not repeal the sense of failure. His plans had gone wrong, children and hatchlings were dead because of his actions, and he had once again nearly destroyed his village. His father had been right all along: every time he stepped outside disaster happened. He screamed louder and attacked the wreckage even more viciously. For a wild moment he looked ready to use his sword on himself.

Then he felt strong hands grab his shoulders and turn him around. "Son, stop this!" Stoick shouted anxiously. He looked as worried as Hiccup looked enraged. Suddenly Hiccup burst into tears. Stoick just held him and let him cry on his shoulder, as though they were both 20 years younger and he was a father comforting his child again.

"Why?" Hiccup kept repeating in between sobs.

"It's all right, son, it's going to be all right," Stoick kept whispering.

" **Hey, comforting him is** _ **my**_ **job**!" Toothless said indignantly. Then he remembered who he was talking to. " **On second thought...go ahead,"**

Deep in the woods Adoncia partly ran, partly stumbled, and partly dragged herself like a wounded and hunted animal. Disoriented and in extreme pain she tried to make her way to the shore. She held a bloodstained cloth over the place where her eye used to be. She knew Drago had docked a wooden boat somewhere on the coast of Berk as a possible means of escape, but in her current state she sensed she would probably never make it there, assuming the boat was even still there.

Her head hurt as though a thousand headaches were battling for supremacy in it. The only things that kept her from collapsing on the ground and screaming was the drive to escape and a deep hatred for the people of Berk. She would have liked nothing better than to find Astrid and kill her.

Suddenly the ground gave way beneath her feet and she fell into a small cave. More correctly, it was just a gap between some large boulders. Still, despite the pain from the fall, which only added to the pain in her head, she sensed this was her best hope. There was no chance she could find Drago's escape ship or sail it in her condition. If she tried she would be found before she sailed one league. So she would stay here, wait, and recover. Then, when the searching eased up, she would find another boat and escape, or perhaps steal a dragon. She knew it was a long shot, but it was her only real option now. She carefully checked a pocket and found she did have some food. It would have to do. She would wait.

And once she had escaped and recovered, she would find Hiccup again, and this time, with Astrid Hofferson watching, she would make love to him and slit his throat.

"Adios Mi Amor…ahora,"

Night fell at last over Berk. It did nothing to stop the occasional cries and moans of the wounded, but it at least meant the horrible day was finally over. Stoick and Bertha put out orders to get as much of the wounded as possible to shelter and to get some food and rest. But despite the weariness that seemed to infect everyone, regardless of the side they had taken, nobody seemed ready or willing to go to sleep. Astrid and Toothless were two of them and the cause of it was mostly Hiccup.

Since Adoncia had not been found among the prisoners the Dragon King had gathered all the dragons he could find and went off searching for her, as well as anyone else who might have tried to escape. He had had to ride another dragon because Toothless still needed his prosthetic fixed. That had been before evening and since the departure Astrid had been waiting anxiously for their return. None of the dragon riders accompanied him on this. He had not asked them for help, and Astrid had only known about his leaving when she saw it. Stormfly was still clearly heartbroken over all that had happened and Astrid did not have the heart to make her do anything more that day, and in any event, she had her own duties to take care of, like helping the wounded. But in between the various jobs she was given, she waited.

It was well after nightfall, possibly nearing midnight, when a group of dragons began entering the village from the woods. Toothless, who had joined her for a few minutes, spotted his rider first and rushed over to him, with Astrid not far behind him.

" **What did you find**?" the Night Fury asked.

" **Nothing** ," the King growled. Shamrock, the dragon he had ridden on, was in an equally bad mood. " **Not one thing out on that whole ocean**!"

" **So if she's not at sea she might be somewhere on the island** ," Toothless said, " **we'll search it once it's daylight."**

" **I say we search it now,"** Shamrock growled.

" **We all need some sleep—especially you,"**

" **I'm just fine** ," The King replied firmly.

" **Try convincing Astrid about that** ,"

Astrid was also in a foul mood now. "Why didn't you ask me to come with you?" she demanded.

"Because I thought you'd been through enough today already. And I didn't want you to see what I might have done if we found Adoncia," Hiccup replied without looking at her.

"I thought you might have decided to leave us again,"

" **Leave without** _ **me**_?" Toothless exclaimed. Hiccup mumbled something.

Astrid moved closer to him. "What was that?"

"I said I'm considering it," he replied darkly, still evading her gaze.

"Have you gone crazy?"Astrid exclaimed.

He shrugged. "Long and fruitless searches leave lots of time to dwell on the future,"

"What's gotten into you? You can't just abandon Berk now! Not when we need all the help we can get!"

"Oh, and _my_ help will make a big difference, won't it? It's because of _my_ help that Berk needs help so badly—as usual! Don't you think I've done enough already?"

"Hiccup—"

"It's my fault we're in this mess, Astrid! If I hadn't gotten caught that night, the Sanctuary would never have been destroyed and the fight would never have come to Berk! It's my fault people are dying at this minute, that families are destroyed, homes are ruined, that boy Peer would be alive right now if I had just moved a little faster—it's because I messed up that your father's dead! You have every right to be furious with me, and I wouldn't blame you if you attacked me right now!"

"I _will_ if you keep acting like an idiot! You didn't kill anyone here today! It's not your fault Drago decided to attack us!"

" **She's got a point there** ," Toothless remarked.

"Who forced his hand? Who was such a thorn in his side that he leapt at any chance to hurt me?" Hiccup retorted.

" **He's got a point there too** ," Shamrock responded.

" **You're not helping** ,"

"Who asked Drago to get so violent in the first place?" Astrid countered.

"That—that's beside the point!" Hiccup spluttered. "It's my fault Adoncia got involved in all of this, and it's because she did that the Sanctuary is gone—along with all the hatchlings who lived there!"

Astrid froze. "Is that why Stormfly's so upset?"

"Yes."

" _All_ of them?"

"Yes." Hiccup said. He nearly slumped onto the ground in grief. "It's all gone, Astrid, they're all gone…"

Astrid took a deep breath. "Then where are you going to go now? Where will your dragons go?"

"Given all that's happened I wouldn't be surprised if they all went their separate ways now,"

"Hiccup, we need you here! You _and_ the dragons! We need everybody here if we're going to make it through this now!"

"And what makes you think anyone here will accept my help once the truth comes out? They'll turn on me and drive me away, so I might as well save them the trouble and drive myself away."

"Going off to find the horizon, huh?" Astrid jeered, putting her hands on her hips, "Hate to say it, Hiccup, but you'll never find it—and you never escape from your problems by running away from them either!"

"No I won't—but if I run away at least they will remain _my_ problems! At least I won't make Berk and my friends pay for them anymore! Think about it! If I hadn't gone to that meeting would any of this have happened? Would Berk have gotten involved in any of this? Would Drago have targeted Berk if I hadn't revealed myself to be a former inhabitant of it? If I had just finished off Drago the last time, would children now be crying for their dead parents? Would parents by crying for their dead children?" His voice shook on that last point.

"You don't know that!"

"Yes I do! Everything I've tried to do for Berk has ended in disaster, starting from the moment I was born! Good grief, it's not just Berk, it's _every_ place I try to help!" He forced himself to calm down. "Look, it's admirable to keep trying but there comes a point where you've got to accept the facts and give up! Drago never learned that, but I have. Face it Astrid, after all that's happened, everyone's better off without me!"

" **I'm not**!" Toothless shouted indignantly as Astrid said the same thing.

" **Oh yes? Who took off your tail fin? Remember that**?"

" **And how many times do I have to tell you I've gotten over it**?" the Night Fury shouted, " **Yes, I remember** _ **that**_ **because** _ **you**_ **keep bringing it up! Shall I remind you how you lost your leg?** "

" **Stop it all of you**!" Shamrock suddenly yelled, " **This blaming isn't helping anybody**!"

Astrid was somewhat shaken by the anger of everybody but held her ground. "Hiccup, I—I won't deny there's some truth in that—I can't—but if this is true then you have a duty to help set things right!"

"No, I have a duty to get away before I set things wrong again! When have I ever set things right successfully?" He finally turned to look her in the eye. Tears were forming in his eyes. "I can't do it, Astrid, I can't do it guys, I can't stay here knowing that I'm the reason there's so much pain and death right now! Do you think I can look at Peer's mother everyday and know I'm the reason her son is dead? Do you think I can look at Stormfly and know that her hatchlings are dead thanks to a woman I refused to have sex with? And who would want me to stay anyway, besides you? They'll all blame me for it, just like in the old days, only this time they'll have every right to!"

"And if you leave you'll be proving them right." Astrid said firmly. "Leave here now and I promise you Hiccup, the Vikings here today _will_ hate you forever. Stay and you have a chance to show them you're human enough to face the consequences of your actions. Besides I—I—"

"Yes?"

"I don't want you to leave,"

He looked up sharply. "Say again?"

"I don't want you to leave. Not again, not after all that's happened, I—I want you to stay here—" she looked at him imploringly. Hiccup would have needed a heart of stone not to be affected by this and he did not have that. "When you disappeared, I was worried sick. I had to force myself to eat, I could hardly sleep and when I did I had nightmares about what they might be doing to you…"

"I was worried about you guys too," Hiccup mumbled, remembering when he had threatened Adoncia, "I was going crazy with worry in that cell and I couldn't even show it—"

"And when Adoncia let it slip that you were still alive, I felt the happiest I'd been in—I don't know how long. And when that ship exploded I thought for a horrible moment that you had perished with it—I thought you would have come straight to me once you were safe—but you didn't!"

"I wanted to Astrid, but I saw Drago escaping and went to head him off! How could I come to you if I'd let the reason for the destruction to get away?"

"And then I found you in the woods and you looked almost ready to keel over—"

"I was never so happy to see you as I was then, but it was hardly the time to show it when the dragons were ripping Drago apart!"

"And when I came back and saw you attacking that hunk of iron—" she grabbed him and slapped him in the face. "No, Hiccup Haddock, you don't get to make me worry so much and then disappear afterwards!" And she pulled him towards her with such force his legs nearly buckled and kissed him as if her life depended on it. Hiccup, once the initial shock wore off, kissed her back as passionately as his strength allowed him. Toothless watched with smug satisfaction. Shamrock had walked away before it happened.

" **Guess we didn't need to kidnap her after all, we just needed to kidnap** _ **you**_ **!** " he laughed.

"Whoa," Hiccup said when they parted at last.

"Don't leave, Hiccup,"

"You make a rather compelling argument," He replied with a bitter smile that soon faded, "I don't know, Astrid…"

Astrid gently took his hand, "Look, you need some rest before you decide anything. Get some sleep and we'll talk about this in the morning, all right?"

"You sound like Toothless when he's nursing me," But he made no effort to stop her. Some sleep honestly did not sound like a bad idea.

Astrid paused. "You know, I just realized something. You've been blaming all of this on yourself, yet a minute ago you said Drago was the reason for all the destruction,"

Hiccup thought a moment. "I did? Huh, I guess I did."

"See? You don't really believe you were the cause of all of this. You're just blaming yourself because you need someone to blame and you're too decent to blame other people." He looked a little dazed as she said this. "Come on, Hiccup, you need some rest. You can't go driving your body on like this, or it's going to wear out on you when you can't afford it."

"I'm fine, Astrid," he lied.

" **Come on** ," Toothless said a bit impatiently.

" **I thought you were supposed to be on my side** ," Hiccup said with a slight bitterness. He supposed in any event he could not leave until Toothless had a new fin, and that could take some time.

As soon as they began making their way back Astrid spoke again. "Hiccup, I need to know something. Did you intend to be on that ship? Was that part of some plan you kept from us?"

Hiccup shook his head numbly. "No. We spotted Adoncia that night and I thought we oughta take her prisoner. She turned the tables on us and we got caught instead. After that Drago took my leg away, so my only hope for escape was this acid I carry in my belt buckle. But Drago was watching me all the time so I couldn't use it without getting caught. And I had no idea where Toothless was, so I had no means or hope of getting back to Berk. All I could think of doing was to wait for the ship to arrive here and hope Drago would leave to join in the battle. And he did. He left Marva behind to watch me, but I took care of her."

"How did Drago know to take your leg away?" Astrid asked. Toothless also let it be known he wanted to know this.

"I wondered about that too. It was probably gossip."

Astrid frowned. "Gossip?"

"Yeah. We made no secret of our escape from the Berserkers. Someone probably asked how we got out of our cells and one of the witnesses, most likely Snotlout I imagine, told them. After that the stories went around, especially when our allies showed up, and sooner or later Drago heard about it. That's all I can think of anyway. A daring and dramatic rescue retold by Vikings who don't have filters on their mouths. I imagine the whole Archipelago will know about my secret pick lock soon." His face fell, "I'll have to devise a new hiding place for it. Vikings just never stop talking."

" **No kidding** ,"

"We'll take care of that later. You need some rest right now." Astrid repeated,

"So do you,"

"I'm fine," she lied.

"No you're not."

They reached one of buildings still standing. Inside the floor was crowded with snoring Vikings. Nobody had been too preoccupied with questions of ownership. Astrid picked up a blanket lying in a random spot and tossed it to Hiccup. She then whispered apologetically "I need to get back to my mother,"

"Astrid—I'm really, _really_ sorry about Olaf—I _never_ wanted it to go this way,"

"Yeah," Astrid said quickly. Her voice trembled. "Yeah, I know—"

"So, I'll—see you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah," She was gone in an instant. Hiccup suddenly wanted to go after her but Toothless said quickly " **let her be. Sometimes privacy is better**." The Night Fury was forced to stay outside. There was no space for him in the building. So he stuck his head through a window. " **She's right, you know** " he continued softly, " **They'd never forgive you if you left now,"**

" **I doubt they'll forgive me for being the cause of all this** ," Hiccup sighed,

" **Then if they won't forgive you no matter which way you turn, the question is which option will let you forgive yourself**?"

" **Neither, probably** ,"

" **That wasn't what I meant** ," Toothless mumbled to himself, and then to his human, " **I should whack you with my tail for that**!"

" **Why is it everyone I care about takes delight in hitting me**?" Hiccup mused, and he was not entirely joking. " **Toothless**?"

" **Hmm**?"

" **Don't take this the wrong way, but why'd you have to kill Drago right then?"**

" **What do you mean?"** The Night Fury demanded.

" **Who built that ship of his with such secrecy and precision, Bud? Who's the Dragon Rider he confused me for? Who are the 'friends' he hinted to me about**?"

" **I don't know** ," In fact, aside from the ship, Toothless had not known about any of these until now.

" **I don't know either. I wanted information from him, Bud, and you ruined the chance of getting it permanently**!"

" **I did that because he tried to kill you**!" Toothless said indignantly.

Hiccup fought to keep his voice down. " **I had it under control, Bud! I knew he was going to pull a knife on me! The blade snapped as soon as it hit me!** "

" **Well** _ **I**_ **didn't know that! All I saw was you exposing yourself and him trying to stab you! What would you have done if it had been me he pulled a knife on?** "

Hiccup recalled his words when he was a prisoner on the _Czernobog_. 'So help me if you've harmed one scale I'll burn your face off and make you eat it.' Suddenly, despite his injuries making movement painful and difficult, despite his weariness, he stood at the window and flung his arms around the Night Fury's neck. The two of them said simultaneously:

" **Oh Toothless, I'm so sorry—I was worried sick the whole time—it doesn't matter, he's gone for good now—we'll get the information sooner or later—what happened to you? Did you get hurt anywhere**?"

" **Hiccup, I'm so sorry, if I had just know I would have let him live—we could have devised a better punishment for him but we can't help it now—we'll figure things out somehow—"**

Slowly they both fell silent. Sometimes words are not enough to show affection. So Hiccup instead kept just wrapped his arms around the dragon's neck and slowly petted him, while Toothless nuzzled him as best as he could.

" **You know** ," Toothless said after a while, " **I took a bath to get here. Well, not exactly a** _ **bath**_ **, but I still went swimming and had to subdue an eel. That's got to count for something.** "

" **I'm very proud of you** ," Hiccup said seriously, " **I'm sorry, Bud, but I had no hope of a quick escape without my leg**."

" **I wouldn't mind in the least if it hadn't cost us so much** ,"

Hiccup's face fell. " **Yes, we lost a lot. One more disaster I can add to the list**."

Toothless felt it best to change the subject. " **What was that about a Dragon Rider you were confused for**?"

" **Drago said we've been a problem since Fort Flay, Bud—he also said I used to ride a different dragon**."

" **Oh? Is there someone from your past you haven't told me about**?" Toothless was only partly joking.

" **Toothless! You know perfectly well you were the first dragon I've ever flown on! And you also know we've never been to this Fort Flay place. Our first act against Drago was against a ship** ,"

Toothless licked him again. " **So, either someone has gotten names or locations mixed up, or are you saying Drago confused us for somebody else**? **Somebody else who rides a dragon** ,"

" **That's what I think, yes** ,"

" **And where is this other person?** _ **Who**_ **is this other person**?"

" **I have no idea**."

" **Another mystery for us to figure out** ," Toothless mumbled.

" **Yeah and goodness knows when we'll get the chance to solve any of those, what with all the work to be done here,** "

" **So we're staying then**?"

" **I—think I need to get some sleep,** "

Toothless scowled slightly at the evasiveness but could not argue with it.

It was only a few hours later when Hiccup woke up. He felt just as tired as he had before but now could not go back to sleep. His mind was too active. So, after tossing and turning for probably another hour or so he decided to go for a walk. Toothless opened an eye when he passed but recalled his words "sometimes privacy is better," and let him go without hindrance.

It was quiet and still over Berk. The clouds were heavy in the sky and the color of mauve, a clear sign that rain was coming. He made his way down to the beach to the wreck of the _Czernobog_. The high tide prevented him from getting close to it, so he just stopped and looked.

Looking out to sea, there did not seem to be anything wrong. It was just the waves lapping onto the beach as they always did, and ahead of him was the horizon—the great unknown. It would be so simple to just get on Toothless, head in that direction and keep going.

"But Astrid's right: no matter how far you go, the horizon is always out of reach," he muttered.

"Can't sleep?" Stoick the Vast was behind him.

"I must really be tired if I didn't hear _you_ sneak up on me," Hiccup commented with a small smile, "If Drago could attack me now I'd probably be dead in under a minute."

"Well, he won't be attacking anyone anymore," Stoick replied with an air of satisfaction, "that at least is a mercy,"

"Yeah,"

"I know what you're thinking about son,"

"Yeah, I know you know,"

"You're thinking about all the ways you could have prevented this. I've thought that after every dragon raid, and when your mother was taken, and when you were taken. Everybody has them when something bad happens. But you know what I've learned since you came back into my life?"

"Not to throw spears at your children?" Hiccup asked sarcastically. He regretted his words instantly. Neither of them was really in the mood for jokes and this was hardly the time to bring that up.

"Aye, that too—but what I've really learned is to not dwell on the past too much. And when you have to dwell on it, you have to keep something in mind,"

"What's that?"

"You can dwell on it all you want, but the only thing you can do about it is learn from it and move on."

Hiccup's face was unreadable. He remembered making a similar statement to Astrid once. He sighed and turned away from the beach.

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere in particular,"

"Mind if I come with you?"

"Not at all, Dad,"

They walked around the wrecked houses and carefully stepped over the sleeping Vikings and around the sleeping dragons.

"It's a mess," Stoick said softly, "But we'll rebuild. We always do."

Not the Sanctuary, Hiccup thought bitterly. From what he had heard the island was little more than a huge pile of rubble. And after what had happened he doubted anyone would want to live there anymore, even if they did somehow manage to fix it up.

Stoick stopped a moment. "Poor Spitelout,"

Hiccup nodded stiffly.

"I know you and he were never on good terms, but I can still look back to those days when he was my playmate, or when we were the toughest fighters on Berk, me always trying to impress Valka, and him trying to impress whoever caught his fancy…"

"Yeah…"

"I think he would have come around, you know. Given time,"

"Yeah…"

"It's going to be hard on Snotlout now. And Astrid. And all the others who lost their mothers and fathers yesterday. They're all going to need a friend they can count on. So will your dragon friends, I imagine,"

"Did Astrid tell you something?"

"I saw her a few hours ago, yeah, and we talked for a few minutes. She looked pretty upset when she mentioned you were considering—"

"Dad, there's no need to say more. My mind's already made up,"

Stoick looked him in the eye and nodded slowly.

The day was gray and chilly. Rain seemed imminent. A slight wind picked up on occasion. Walking along the beach and gazing out to the sea would leave a person reflective and morose. But nobody had the time for such leisure.

Bodies had been placed in piles along the beach. Not the beach where the fighting had occurred on but further along the coast to the north. Prisoners had had the unenviable task of sorting out the dead and transporting them to the pyre sight, for Stoick and Bertha refused to let the dead of the enemy mingle with their own in the funeral pyres. Gort was still unable to give his consent but his adjutant and now likely his heir Morton had agreed with them. Once their task was finished the prisoners had been herded onto some of the ships that had survived the battle. Dragons were set to guard them. They would stay there until the ships sailed. Of the leaders, only Dagur would be going back to his own island, at Hiccup's suggestion. After getting his armada, harbor, and now army virtually destroyed, everyone suspected that his days as Chief were numbered. As for Alvin, he was still alive but barely. As an exile from Berk, he would be treated as such if he somehow recovered.

The bodies had been prepared according to tradition as much as possible for the funeral. Then they were laid upon large piles of wood, built mostly from the wrecked ships and homes. Offerings and gifts, especially the possessions of the deceased, were then placed around the bodies as carefully as possible. This process had taken considerable time and effort to manage.

The dragons who had died in the battle were given a pyre of their own. While dragons had no burial customs, it was deemed both a symbolic and practical way of taking care of their bodies. Several dragons, following the Viking custom, also placed gifts next to the fallen. Most of these gifts were fish, as food was one of the few things dragons placed a value on. Hiccup himself had placed his sword and shield in the pyre. Stormfly took a cod and cut it into four pieces before laying it on the wood pile.

It was late afternoon when the Vikings and most dragons gathered on the beach at last. The tribal elders recited their prayers and performed their rites, followed soon afterwards by the Chiefs. Prayers were muttered by various families and prominent members of each tribe. Finally, at Stoick's silent command a group of dragons moved forward and breathed flames on the pyres.

There was something strangely moving about the sight of flames burning a lifeless body, Fishlegs thought. The person looked like they were merely asleep and the flames would soon make them disappear forever. With his parents behind him and Meatlug on his left he felt a few sniffles coming on. He knew deep down he had gotten lucky.

The Twins kept a quiet reverence. Compared with other families theirs had been among those who had suffered the least. While they were a bit downcast out the funeral, their minds soon got bored and they began to determine what their next morale boosting stunt would be. Mildew would be the target. He had survived the battle with barely a scratch, and while he claimed to have been in the thick of it, nobody bought it, not even Hognose, who had made up his mind to get off Berk as soon as possible.

Camicazi, with her arm in a sling, was with her mother and Midnight. While the Bog Burglars were thieves on principle, there was an unspoken rule against stealing at times like this. Had it been Drago's funeral they would have robbed everyone blind, but this was not the case. Drago himself had not been given a burial according to custom. Instead, what was left of him had been simply burned by Hookfang and Persephone, and then the ashes were trampled into the ground. Nobody but they knew where this had taken place either, and Hiccup wanted it to stay that way. He would not make Drago's final resting place a shrine for people akin to Marva to worship at.

As the pyres burned, Astrid went over to Snotlout.

"How are you holding up?"

"Just fine," he said quickly,

"Look, I know we've often been at odds, but I'm sorry about your father. I—wouldn't wish that loss on anyone," she muttered. She was not used to making apologies like this.

Snotlout nodded and his eyes lit up a little. "You know, if you need a shoulder to cry on, mine are very large and muscular…"

Astrid decided not to punch him this time. In a way it felt strangely comforting to have him flirting with her again. It was as though life was back to normal already. Still, she moved away and rejoined her mother and Stormfly.

"She didn't punch me, Hookfang. She's starting to give in to my Vikingness," Snotlout told his dragon. The dragon looked at him as if to say 'is now really the time for this?'

Gustav's mother needed no shoulder to cry on: she had her son's already, and she was bawling on it. Gustav was trying to not look embarrassed as he patted his new friend, a Monstrous Nightmare whom he had named Fanghook.

" **So what do we do now**?" Persephone asked Shamrock. Evictus was sitting nearby listening.

" **Well, the Sanctuary is gone, so we stay here, join another tribe, or go off on our own, I guess**." He shrugged. " **Personally, I'm staying here for now. You**?"

" **I have considered going with Midnight and the Bog thieves** ,"

" **Persephone, do you** _ **ever**_ **use words that have 'L' in them**?" Evictus asked.

She thought a moment. " **I do not know…** "

" **How about you, Evictus**?" Shamrock asked to get back to what interested him.

" **Oh I'm staying here. Berk will need my tree cutting skills, and wherever the Hatchling is, that means sooner or later there'll be a lot of people to evict**!" he grinned at his old friends.

Shamrock shook his head with a smile. " **Just like always. It won't be the same without Grimm, of course,"**

" **Grimm would never want to live here anyway,"** Evictus replied with a sad smile, " **I can hear him now telling me humans are too selfish and brutal for his liking**." He stopped smiling and sighed. " **And he was right—about some of them anyway** ,"

Other dragons had been having similar discussions about where to go next. Most, however, had decided to put off their decisions until after the funeral—and until they knew what their Beta intended to do. While Toothless would never order them to stay, as the Razorwhip might have, he still was their Beta, which meant they sometimes used him for a role model. For Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Fanghook, and Barf n' Belch, staying was a foregone conclusion. And by the looks of it the Berkians were not going to mind if more stayed, considering how most of them had no qualms about watching the pyres with dragons beside and behind them.

"So wot's gonna 'appen now, Stoick?" Gobber asked,

"We rebuild," Stoick replied firmly,

"An' the dragons?"

Stoick shrugged, as if Gobber should have known better than to ask. "Any that wish to stay can, provided the island can support it."

"An' 'Iccup?"

Hiccup had not really listened to the funeral rites and mostly just stared upwards at the sky. His mind was not on Berk, and his eyes were glazed over somewhat. He absentmindedly tapped his fingers on his leg occasionally. Once the pyres had been burning for a while, people and dragons alike began to gather in small groups around the smoldering ruins.

Hiccup finally snapped out of his reverie when Toothless came up to him. It was only then that he realized that the Dragon Riders were standing next to him, flanked by their dragons. On the other side stood Gobber, Stoick, and Bertha, looking at him expectantly.

"You guys all right?" he asked quietly. The Riders and dragons nodded. "How are the legs, Snotlout?"

"Well, I don't need to get them replaced," Snotlout said with a grin that did not match his eyes.

"Well…that's good,"

"The Chicken is pleased too," Tuffnut announced, holding up his poultry friend, who squawked.

"Right..." Hiccup folded his arms and looked at Toothless. " **And how are you today, Bud**?"

" **Well enough. So the Sanctuary's gone. Berk's the only home we've got now. What do we do about it?"**

Hiccup turned around, and he could hear murmurings from the crowd. People were wondering if he was going to leave them or help them.

" **When you travel at night, somebody needs to carry the guiding torch**." Toothless remarked.

" **What was that**?"

" **Oh, just a little saying I picked up somewhere. Might have been China** ," the Night Fury looked around. " **I'd say these people expect you to be their guiding torch** ,"

" **And who's going to be mine**?" the King mumbled.

" **I am of course, stupid**!" Toothless laughed, " **And I'm sure Astrid will be willing to help too** ,"

"Hiccup?" Astrid said. She spoke with expectancy, not uncertainty.

Hiccup smiled at her, then his gaze drifted around the war torn village. A multitude of destruction, pain, and death was visible everywhere. For a moment he wanted to break down and cry again, regardless of who was watching. But he had already done that. Now was not the time for tears, not from him at any rate.

"This is not the end of it." He spoke softly at first, as if to himself, but now it grew in size until he might have been shouting at the Earth itself. "This is not the end of it! I've been down in the dust for years and I've always come through and I will do it again—and I will help the rest do the same! No matter what it takes, I will get us out of this, and I'll turn this day into the beginning of something new and greater than the world has ever known—and when we're finished, as long as I'm still breathing I'll do all I can to ensure this never happens again! Come on, guys, we've got a village to rebuild. The funeral celebrations are in seven days—let's see how much we can accomplish done by then. I don't care what anyone else thinks, I'm the Dragon King and the Heir of Berk, and I say that no matter what it takes, this is not the end of it!"

He put one arm around Astrid's shoulder and the other on Toothless's head, and directed them back to the Village.

 **The End**


	34. Chapter 34

November 20, 2016

Author's Note:

It took almost 11 months to write this story. Before that, ideas for a 'Hiccup Leaves' Fanfiction fermented in my head for several years. Some ideas worked, some were modified, and some were discarded over time. And now that it is finished, I feel a little strange and do not entirely want to post the ending.

Will anyone believe me when I say this is the first long story I have ever written? After several Fanfiction attempts that never made it past the first chapter, I am a bit amazed that I managed to finish a story which on my computer is roughly 350 pages long. It got so long I had to split it into two files to speed up the saving process!

But if I am amazed at the fact that I actually finished this, I am even more amazed at the glowing reviews people have given it. You've all been wonderful readers and reviewers, and I'm really glad you enjoyed the story so much. I especially want to thank LucyBC1990. This story would have been very different and inferior without your constructive criticism and suggestions. I would also like to thank everyone else who has given me suggestions over the long months.

Now I know I asked earlier if there was anything left to clarify, and I imagine people will notice certain subjects have not been addressed. The reason is because yes, a sequel is in the works. It will be called " _The Dragon King: the Eye and the Alpha_ ". Infer from this what you will.

It is my intention to not being posting the new story until March 1, 2017. The reason for the long delay is so that once I start posting I can maintain regular updates, as I did for this story. I might change my mind and start posting sooner, depending on how work progresses. I certainly welcome all suggestions people might have, but I cannot promise that I will make use of every idea.

I am deeply touched and honored by everyone's support during the creation of this story. I have had a great time writing it and I hope that everyone has had an even greater time reading it.

Until next time,


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